Despite pessimistic expectations, word on CNBC is the NPD's analysis shows video game retail sales in February actually exceeded expectations. Game sales for the month were still down 5% compared with the same period last year, but analysts were expecting them to be down as much as 10%. Meanwhile, with gaming hardware sales up a surprising 10% compared with February 2010, the industry as a whole showed a 4% gain. They also repeat the ever-more common understanding that these retail figures are not representative of the entire industry: "The monthly brick and mortar sales numbers from NPD only represent 60 percent of the overall revenue in the video game industry. Used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full game downloads, social network games, downloadable content and mobile game apps all contribute to the bottom line of publishers — and are a growing force."