February video game sales decline 15 percent, software and console sales still slow
By APThursday, March 11, 2010
February video game sales drop 15 percent
SEATTLE — U.S. retail sales of video games declined 15 percent in February, hurt in part by an ongoing decline in sales of music games and lower sales of the Wii system.
Americans spent $1.26 billion on video game systems, software and accessories during the month, down from $1.48 billion a year ago, market researcher NPD Group said Thursday.
“I had expected the industry to perform somewhat better this month,” said Anita Frazier, NPD Group’s video game industry analyst, in a statement.
February isn’t generally a big month for the video game industry, which still makes much of its money during the holiday season. Even so, several high-profile titles launched during the month, including “BioShock 2,” the follow-up to Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s popular sci-fi shooter, and “Dante’s Inferno” from Electronic-Arts Inc., both appealing to hardcore video game fans.
The amount of money people spent on gaming systems sank 20 percent to $426.4 million.
The number of Nintendo Wii systems sold in the quarter plunged 47 percent. Competitors fared better in unit sales, though: Sony PlayStation 3 unit sales jumped 31 percent, and Microsoft Corp. sold 9 percent more Xbox 360 systems, grabbing the top spot among the console makers for the first time since “Halo 3″ was released in September 2007, Frazier said.
Tags: Computing And Information Technology, Consumer Electronics, Entertainment And Media Technology, Game Consoles, Games, North America, Recreation And Leisure, Seattle, Software, United States, Washington
