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The NPD Group provided a reminder this week that market growth is not guaranteed. The gaming industry in the US ended the year (2007) with record retail sales of nearly $18 billion.

This week The NPD Group the industry-research firm released US retail sales data for the January 2008 period. While software sales for the month were up 11 percent to nearly $611 million, hardware sales fell by a quarter to around $378 million. Combine that with a modest decline in accessory sales, the industry overall was down 6 percent for the month, posting $1.18 billion compared to January 2007’s $1.25 billion take.

Despite this, the month contained indications that the industry actually grew. That was because the January 2007 reporting period was five weeks long as opposed to this January’s four-week span. Analyst Anita Frazier said that the numbers are much rosier when this adjustment was taken into account.

The big winner in the gaming market was console software which was nearly 50 percent up when compared to last year.

Hardware sales were down and a lot of this was to do with poor supply that assertion was backed up by a statement from Microsoft saying the Xbox 360 was suffering from temporary shortages.

Nintendo’s longtime lead on its competitors was also slimmed. The Wii once again took the console sales crown, by a narrower margin than in previous months. In a month that saw significant advances for the PlayStation 3’s chosen Blu-ray disc format, Sony’s system ran nearly neck-and-neck with the Wii, selling 269,000 systems compared to the Nintendo’s 275,000. 3rd placed Nintendo DS racked up 251,000 sales, while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable brought up the rear, selling 230,000 units each.

Familiar faces dominated the software list, with Modern Warfare and Call of Duty 4 for the Xbox 360 once again beating all challengers, notching up 331,000 in sales. Another favourite Guitar Hero on the Wii and Xbox 360 took third and fifth respectively, Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii was sixth and the DS edition of Mario Party in ninth.

THIS IS THE NPD GROUP’s DATA FOR US GAME INDUSTRY SALES FOR JANUARY 2008

Category Total Change

Video Games: $1.18 billion -6%

Video Game Accessories: $191 million -4%

Video Games Software: $550 million +11%

Video Games Hardware: $378 million -25%

Total Sales Per Week: $295 million +18%

Hardware Sales (units sold)

Wii: 274,000

PlayStation 3: 269,000

Nintendo DS: 251,000

PlayStation Portable: 230,000

Xbox 360: 230,000

Game Software Top 10 (units sold)

1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (360, Activision) – 331,000

2) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) – 298,000

3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii, Activision) – 240,000

4) Rock Band (Xbox 360, MTV Games) – 184,000

5) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, Activision) – 183,000

6) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) – 172,000

7) Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360, EA) – 144,000

Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (PS3, Activision) – 140,000

9) Mario Party DS (DS, Nintendo) – 139,000

10) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS, Sega) – 133,000

A statement from Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello is confident the company’s revenue will jump to around $6 billion by the fiscal year 2011, with at least $900 million from digital revenue streams like downloadable content, in-game advertising and subscription fees. That would represent a growth of 71 percent over its 2008 fiscal year revenue forcast, which it expected to hit roughly $3.5 billion.

Other new announcements made by EA yesterday included a release date of September 7 for Spore (and possible PS3 and Xbox 360 versions).

The sales job of your dreams may seem to be in a galaxy far, far away. In reality, it is just a matter of having the gumption to explore new spaces and apply universal concepts. The combination of these two spectacular techniques can come together at the speed of light to create one Big Bang – in the form of a sales cover letter. The sales cover letter is the first important aspect of your mission – to find a stellar position with potential for growth. Don’t let your submission get sucked into the black hole known as the trash can. Design a sales cover letter powerful enough to rocket you straight to the sales position of your dreams.

Sales professionals, in particular, should not be intimidated by the thought of writing a cover letter. A cover letter is basically a sales letter. The main difference is that where a typical sales letter advertises a job or service, the marketable subject of the cover letter is the applicant. You know yourself better than you know any product or service. Apply the techniques used by sales professionals everyday and you can increase the success of your submission by astronomical proportions.

Let’s consider the mechanics of the cover letter – the basic rules that govern the appearance and visual appeal of the letter itself. Fonts are significant. Choosing familiar fonts lends a professional slant to the letter. Size of font has an impact on the format of your correspondence. A too-large font can come off as an attempt to get out of writing a thorough cover letter. A font that is too small looks busy and tedious. Twelve point type is the standard and generally a good size of choice. Use the same font throughout the letter, the resume and even on the envelopes. It gives the impression of a put-together, organized candidate who produces quality work.

Use the force when you introduce yourself and you are sure to stay far away from the hiring manager’s dark side. Grabbing the reader’s attention at lift-off is crucial. Sales is all about convincing – convincing the customer they need a certain project or convincing a company they need the service you provide. Convince the hiring manager that you are the one for the job by citing interesting personal experiences in the field. Be personal and affable. Salespeople must use their wit and charm to seal the deal on a daily basis. Transfer that skill to the keyboard and apply it to the sales cover letter. Before you know it, you will be counting down the days until your job interview.

Build a rapport with the hiring manager. Share your education and experience

Openly but leave some details for the resume. Direct the hiring manager to this enclosure a few times in the cover letter. Take the time to find out the name and title of the hiring manager. They will be flattered that you took the time to address more than just a “Dear Sir or Madame”. Mention a couple of achievements that are not covered in the resume. Make sure they are interesting enough to exert some gravitational pull. Keep a copy of your letter and resume handy for reference purposes. If the hiring manager calls you, you need to remember exactly what you wrote. Not remembering what you said in regards to the position will make you seem scatter-brained and careless.

Close the cover letter with sincere thanks and then set out to explore the final frontier. Use the “Take me to your leader,” approach to job hunting. Come out and ask the hiring manager for the interview that you seek. The worst that he or she can say is no. This confident proactive approach shows the hiring manager that you are not afraid to go after what you want. Express your intentions to contact the hiring manager after a specified period of time. Allow a reasonable period to pass before contacting the company to inquire about the status of your submission. Your follow through skills will be evident in your actions. A good sales cover letter is one that reaches for the stars. Take theses small steps to prevent your sales cover letter from burning out before it ever has a chance to take-off.