Spiking revenues in the game industry aren't limited to console makers and software developers. The accessories business has been booming from increased market penetration of current-generation hardware, as well. For the month of March, accessory sales jumped 58 percent over the same period last year to $220 million, according to the NPD Group.

　　It's no wonder, then, that new ancillary products continue to flood the market. Today, peripheral manufacturer Actiga Corporation announced it had signed a North American licensing deal with Microsoft to produce wireless controllers for the Xbox 360. The first product of this union will be a full-sized skateboard that will be compatible with the "popular skateboarding games" that will launch during the second half of 2008. Skateboarding games thus far available for Microsoft's console include Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, American Wasteland, and Project 8 from Activision as well EA's newest entrant, Skate.

　　Details on how the controller will interact with the game have not yet been made available, but Actiga has previously ventured into the replica boarding input device with the QMotions Xboard (pictured), which controls the speed and direction of the player's in-game persona by leaning in a particular direction. On its site, Actiga lists that peripheral as being compatible with such games as Tony Hawk's Underground and Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer.

　　Also of note is the fact Actiga's announcement comes just over two weeks before Nintendo releases its Wii Fit Balance Board and after rumors that Microsoft was working on a Wii Remote-like controller surfaced.