U.S. retails sales of video games hardware, software and accessories fell 26% in July from a year ago, in what was the worst month for the industry since October 2006, according to market research firm NPD.

FORBES: July U.S. Video Game Sales Fall 26%; Worst Month Since 2006

In so many words, ALT Systems will take the disparate pieces of hardware and software from HP, NVIDIA, Autodesk and Epic Games to provide an all-in-one buying solution for game dev studios.

ENGADGET: HP introduces Unreal Engine 4-ready 'turnkey solution' workstations, collaborating with ALT Systems

They found there was no question that hardware such as interactive whiteboards, digital tablets or software such as educational games could help improve pupils' learning if used properly.

BBC: Costly hi-tech kit lies unused in schools, says study

GPUs are moving from video games into high performance computing in a big way since Nvidia began focusing on software and revised its hardware designs to make them easier to use.

FORBES: Supercomputing and High Performance See Growing GPU Adoption

One big shift for Nintendo with the launch of the 3DS is that it is working more closely with outside software developers, rather than relying mostly on popular in-house games to drive the initial hardware sales.

WSJ: Nintendo's Chief Defends 3DS