Reuters - U.S. sales of video game hardware and software jumped 73 percent in October, with Nintendo Co Ltd’s (7974.OS) Wii console regaining its spot as the top-selling console, industry data showed on Thursday.

Reuters - U.S. sales of Sony Corp’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) more than doubled in the weeks following a price cut and the launch of a lower-priced version, the company said on Friday, in a sign of changing fortunes for the game console.

According to Variety, the Wii, DS and PS2 versions of the newly announced Ghostbusters game will be focused towards the family, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will be catering more towards the hardcore action loving gamer.

NPD has released the hardware sales for October 2007. The Wii came out tops with 519,000 units, while the Xbox 360 sold 366,000 units and the PS3 a mere 121,00 units (a 2000 month-on-month drop). Elsewhere, the PS2 sold 184,000 units, the PSP 286,000 units and the DS a glittering 458,000.

Analyst Evan Wilson from Pacific Crest Securities has stated that a new design of the Nintendo DS has already been completed. Wilson states that his contacts confirm that a refreshed DS is complete and that it is thinner (no GBA port) has on board storage and larger screens.