Analyst On NPD Data: August A Dud, September/October May Shine

The August NPD numbers should be coming in soon, which means analysts are popping up out of their holes to make their predictions. Lazard Capital's Colin Sebastian has a hunch that August won't be so great, but that September and October could be bigger than last year's counterparts.

Sebastian says that his predicted software-sales downturn of 10-15 percent in August is at least partially due to the strong performance of Batman: Arkham Asylym and Wii Sports Resort in 2009. As we move to the holiday season with the release of Halo: Reach and PlayStation Move, however, Sebastian says things will pick up again. While he doesn't provide any numbers along with his prediction, Sebastian says that September and October will see positive growth over 2009, with the release of high-profile games such as Halo: Reach, Fable III, Medal of Honor, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. Even further ahead, games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, Gran Turismo 5, and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm are expected to be strong sellers. Really?