Consumer Confidential: Video games, Hulu, American Airlines

Here’s your fight-the-power Friday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--Christmas wasn’t kind to the video game industry. U.S. sales of video game hardware, software and accessories fell 21% in December from a year ago, to $3.99 billion, as players bought fewer games for their aging consoles, according to market researcher NPD Group. The month’s poor performance was unexpected given the quality of new games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which was the top-seller, and Just Dance 3, which placed second. Consoles are getting long in the tooth. Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 will turn 7 years old this November. Sony’s PlayStation 3 will turn 6 in November. Nintendo’s Wii is also turning 6. Sony and Microsoft have not unveiled plans for a next-generation console, while Nintendo is expected to release its Wii U with a new touch-screen controller later this year. (Associated Press)

--Things are going a whole lot better for Hulu Plus, the online video subscription service owned by major broadcast networks ABC, Fox and NBC. It reached a new milestone at the end of the year with 1.5 million paying subscribers a little more than a year after its formal launch. Its CEO, Jason Kilar, also brought in the new year with a comment that Hulu’s broadcast-TV owners might not want to hear: that he believes online viewing will ultimately surpass TV as the main way people watch their shows. Kilar said Hulu Plus plans to spend about a half-billion dollars on content in 2012. (Associated Press)

--Is American Airlines up for grabs? Potential buyers are reportedly circling the carrier, weighing bids for its parent company that could place the storied but unprofitable airline in the hands of a rival or a private equity firm. People familiar with the matter said Delta Air Lines, US Airways Group and TPG Capital separately are studying bids for AMR Corp., which two months ago became the last of the big “legacy” airline operators to file for bankruptcy protection after a decade of industry consolidation. American, which traces its roots back more than eight decades, has been losing money since 2008. Shorn of its hefty costs, however, the No. 3 U.S. carrier by traffic could be an attractive prize for Delta or US Airways, with hubs in markets including Chicago and Dallas and a strong overseas presence. (Los Angeles Times)