The new active Wii video games from Nintendo may be creating a healthier generation of couch potato, according to a new study.

Sales of video game equipment and software in the United States tumbled 19 percent in October to $1.07 billion, research group NPD said on Thursday, troubling figures as the industry heads into the most important selling weeks of the year.

Following a disappointing quarterly report card from gaming giant Nintendo, Hiroshi Kamide, gaming and software analyst at KBC Securities, believes the firm will do better next year.