Video Game Sales Drop 26% In April
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The retail sales of video games in the U.S. fell 26 percent in April to $766.2 million from a year earlier, as fewer blockbuster titles hit store shelves in the month.
NPD Group, a market research firm, said Thursday that the sales of consoles plummeted 37 percent to $249.3 million last month from the year-ago period, while software sales dropped 22 percent to $398.5 million.
According to NPD, the drop in software sales was well below the industry expectation of a 5 percent decline.
The handheld device, the Nintendo DS was the best selling system in the month, despite sales of the device plunging by more than half to 440,800 units from 1 million the year prior. Nintendo also saw sales of its Wii system decline last month.
"The portable side of the industry contributed more than its fair share to the industry decline," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier, adding that the drop in sales of portable devices added 61 percent of the total video games sales drop for the month.
The portable market is also seeing increased competition from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which has solid gaming lineups on both its iPhone and iPad devices. Also consumers may be putting off the purchase of a new handheld device in anticipation of the upcoming 3DS system from Nintendo, which will allow for a 3D gaming experience.
April tends to be the slowest month of the year for video game sales, as many of the industry’s top developers fiscal year end in March. The companies tend to push out titles before the end of the year, keeping April selections lean.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction from Ubisoft was the only major title to be released last month, and topped the sales charts with 486,100 units sold.
Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: ERTS) are down 37 percent on the news, THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI) is down 3.3 percent and Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is down 2.5 percent.
NPD Group, a market research firm, said Thursday that the sales of consoles plummeted 37 percent to $249.3 million last month from the year-ago period, while software sales dropped 22 percent to $398.5 million.
According to NPD, the drop in software sales was well below the industry expectation of a 5 percent decline.
The handheld device, the Nintendo DS was the best selling system in the month, despite sales of the device plunging by more than half to 440,800 units from 1 million the year prior. Nintendo also saw sales of its Wii system decline last month.
"The portable side of the industry contributed more than its fair share to the industry decline," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier, adding that the drop in sales of portable devices added 61 percent of the total video games sales drop for the month.
The portable market is also seeing increased competition from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which has solid gaming lineups on both its iPhone and iPad devices. Also consumers may be putting off the purchase of a new handheld device in anticipation of the upcoming 3DS system from Nintendo, which will allow for a 3D gaming experience.
April tends to be the slowest month of the year for video game sales, as many of the industry’s top developers fiscal year end in March. The companies tend to push out titles before the end of the year, keeping April selections lean.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction from Ubisoft was the only major title to be released last month, and topped the sales charts with 486,100 units sold.
Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: ERTS) are down 37 percent on the news, THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI) is down 3.3 percent and Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is down 2.5 percent.
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