How Watch Dogs' performance on PS4 and Xbox One is helping EA, Activision, and Take-Two

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are selling well. Big games are exceeding expectations. Even the Wii U has a blockbuster. With all of that, Wall Street is feeling good about the games industry.

Major publishers like Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, and Activision are all trading higher today due in large part to yesterday’s positive monthly report from industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. Gamers spent $586 million on gaming software, hardware, and accessories at U.S. retail last month, which is up a whopping 52 percent from the previous year. Releases like Ubisoft’s open-world hacking game Watch Dogs and Nintendo’s mascot racer Mario Kart 8 both sold extremely well, which shows that consumers want to spend their money on new properties and well-recognized brands. GameStop, the biggest games-specific retailer in the U.S., is also seeing a boost thanks to the NPD report.