According to new figures from the NPD Group, video game software sales in the United States fell 23 percent year-on-year for the month of April.
Overall sales fell to $510 million USD, but NPD analyst Anita Frazier did note that the month had a particularly weak software release schedule.
“The number of new releases this month is fairly comparable to what was introduced last April, but GTA IV (on both PS3 and the 360) sold nearly 1 million more units last April than the entire top 10 list did this year,” added Frazier.
“April 2008 also featured the release of Mario Kart for Wii, which has remained a top-selling game for this past year, and is on this month’s top 10 list as well. This really illustrates the impact of comparing against a month when there were several new blockbuster titles new to the market,” she concluded.
For hardware sales, all the next-gen consoles saw declines with Nintendo leading the way with 340,000 Wii units sold, a 55 percent decline year on year. Following was the Xbox 360 with 175,000 units sold, a 7 percent decline. Surprisingly, the PlayStation 2 came in next, posting a huge 30 percent increase in sales. The PlayStation 3 lagged behind again, with 127,000 units sold, a 33 percent decline year-on-year.
Result for: game sales
Microsoft has noted that the software attach rate for their Xbox 360 console has grown to 8.1 titles.
The software giant also noted that third-party games are generating more revenue for publishers than the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation 3 combined. In total, for the month, third-party game sales reached $300 million USD on the Xbox 360.
“We’ve created the optimal line-up of experiences this holiday season for families seeking lasting entertainment value, particularly during rough economic times in the US and abroad,” noted Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.
“We have the largest library of games, TV and movie content and the most expansive and rewarding social experiences. We’re confident Xbox 360 will continue to drive record sales around the world this holiday and beyond.”
Including first-party titles, sales for the month were $408 million USD.
Result for: game sales
A new Juniper research report has stated that despite increased interest in mobile gaming, sales of games have “flatlined across North America and Western Europe”.
The total retail value of the mobile gaming market is expected to almost double in the next 5 years from $5.4 billion USD to $10 billion USD however “limited on-portal revenue share for publishers is driving some away from the sector and poor games marketing fails to capture customer attention.”
“The revenue share offered by Apple to games publishers is incredibly attractive,” said Dr Windsor Holden, author of the report, speaking about how iPhone gaming has helped bring increased interest to the market.
“The danger is that if operators do not respond with a similar business model, publishers faced with low margins may simply exit Java completely, thereby reducing consumer choice in the longer term.”
