People may be tightening their belts as the economic crisis continues, but video game sales remain a relatively bright spot despite the hard times.

NPD Group, a market research firm that watches the industry, reports that U.S. retail sales of video games hit $2.91 billion in November, which is a 10 percent spike from last year. For 2008, sales through November are about $16 billion, which is up 22 percent.

But Gameindustry.com publisher Nate Wooley, who manages the stock market report and calculates the GiNdex – a measure of publicly held companies within the game industry – cautions that all is not completely good news for game companies and retailers.

"Certainly the fact that there is growth and that the retail stores both online and off are busy is good news," Wooley said. "But the GiNdex has been down a lot in December because that growth was expected to be a lot bigger. Companies planned for that growth, but aren't getting it. People who say the game industry is recession proof are really oversimplifying the problems brought on by the global economic crisis. The game industry is strong and diverse, but it will react to market forces and already is. Traditionally the GiNdex gets a huge boost in November and December, but this year, that doesn't seem to be happening. That could spell trouble down the road if the overall economy doesn't improve."

According to NPD Group, the top-selling game titles in November include "Gears of War 2," which sold 1.6 million copies, and "Call Of Duty: World At War," which sold 1.4 million.

Gameindustry.com chief editor John Breeden sees two distinct reasons why video games have continued to sell well in a sputtering economy.

"I think as long as the economic woes don't get too much deeper, the industry will be fine," Breeden said. "First, you have a great value with video games. Movies are doing okay too because people can pay $8 and be entertained for a few hours. But with a video game you might pay $50, but be entertained for 40 or 50 hours, assuming you like the content. Titles like MMOs which charge a small monthly fee, but offer unlimited content and playtime are even better values."

"Secondly," Breeden continued. "You have large initial investments that have already been made by consumers, presumably when the economy was good. So you have people that have paid hundreds of dollars for a console system or thousands on a gaming PC, but to get anything out of it, they have to buy games. If they don't buy any games, then their $300 console or $2,000 computer is kind of a wasted investment for their personal entertainment. So everyone should buy something over the holidays. Thankfully, unlike 1984 when the industry really crashed, these days there is something for everyone whether you like violence and mayhem, riddles and puzzles, adventure, education, are trying to get in shape, or need a little portable fun. You can find what interests you in the game industry."