Video Game Sales Drop 15%
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Video game sales dipped sharply in February, as a slew of big name titles could not offset the dropping popularity of the Nintendo Wii system and music based games.
Retail sales of video games dipped 15 percent last month to $1.26 billion, down from $1.48 billion in the same month last year.
Traditionally February is not a strong month for video game system sales, but several high-profile titles were released in the month, but the sales did not seem to benefit.
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) released "Bioshock 2," the follow up offering in its popular sci-fi shooter franchise, that despite lukewarm reviews grabbed the top-selling game spot or the month.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) rolled out its much hyped title "Dante's Inferno," but the video game community was unimpressed and sales of the game had it barely scrapping the top-10 in sales for the month.
The sales of individual games have dipped each month for more than a year, as consumers are more frugal in the current economic climate and the fact that there just have not been as many quality titles to hit store shelves. Software sales in the industry fell 15 percent to $624.4 million from last year.
The sales for gaming systems fell 20 percent in the month to $426.4 million, due to the plunging demand for Wii consoles, down 47 percent in February. Nintendo said last month that it has faced shortages of its consoles after the holidays.
Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) was the big winner of the month, as sales of its PlayStation 3 consoles soared 31 percent, while Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) saw a 9 percent jump for the sales of its Xbox 360 systems, grabbing the top spot for sales in the month for the first time since September 2007.
Retail sales of video games dipped 15 percent last month to $1.26 billion, down from $1.48 billion in the same month last year.
Traditionally February is not a strong month for video game system sales, but several high-profile titles were released in the month, but the sales did not seem to benefit.
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) released "Bioshock 2," the follow up offering in its popular sci-fi shooter franchise, that despite lukewarm reviews grabbed the top-selling game spot or the month.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) rolled out its much hyped title "Dante's Inferno," but the video game community was unimpressed and sales of the game had it barely scrapping the top-10 in sales for the month.
The sales of individual games have dipped each month for more than a year, as consumers are more frugal in the current economic climate and the fact that there just have not been as many quality titles to hit store shelves. Software sales in the industry fell 15 percent to $624.4 million from last year.
The sales for gaming systems fell 20 percent in the month to $426.4 million, due to the plunging demand for Wii consoles, down 47 percent in February. Nintendo said last month that it has faced shortages of its consoles after the holidays.
Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) was the big winner of the month, as sales of its PlayStation 3 consoles soared 31 percent, while Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) saw a 9 percent jump for the sales of its Xbox 360 systems, grabbing the top spot for sales in the month for the first time since September 2007.
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