Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. sales of Nintendo Co.'s Wii video-game console rose 55 percent in October as the industry rebounded from its first monthly decline in more than two years.

Consumers purchased 803,000 Wii players, Port Washington, New York-based NPD Group Inc. said today in an e-mailed statement, an increase from 519,000 a year earlier. Total industry sales rose 18 percent to $1.31 billion, NPD said.

Revenue is recovering from a September slump, when the industry was competing against the year-earlier release of Microsoft Corp.'s ``Halo 3'' game, which spurred sales of the company's Xbox 360 console.

``The video games industry grew an impressive 18 percent year-over-year in the first month of the critical fourth quarter,'' NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in the statement. ``With 10 months under its belt, the video games industry is still poised to top $22 billion in annual sales in 2008.''

Software sales rose 35 percent, led by Microsoft's ``Fable II,'' NPD said.

In October, consumers purchased 371,000 of the 360s and 190,000 units of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3. Microsoft cut the price of the least-expensive model of the Xbox 360, the Arcade, to $199.99 from $279.99 in September.

Nintendo is boosting shipments to the U.S. by 50 percent during the fourth quarter to avoid shortages that limited sales last year. The company feels no pressure to lower Wii's $249 price tag, Reggie Fils-Aime, president of the company's U.S. business, said in an interview today.

Boosting Production

``It's difficult to contemplate a price reduction when product is selling out,'' Fils-Aime said. ``For us it's first about getting product into the market.''

Nintendo also led in sales of handheld game players. Consumers purchased 491,000 of the company's DS machines, compared with 193,000 units of Sony's PSP, NPD said.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, rose 95 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $21.25 today in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. It has declined 40 percent this year. U.S.-listed Sony shares rose 90 cents to $22.01 and are down 59 percent this year. Nintendo fell 1,900 yen to 28,550 yen in Osaka yesterday, and is down 57 percent in 2008.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 13, 2008 18:36 EST