U.S. video-game sales up slightly in September
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PS3 outsells XBox 360, Wii for the first time
U.S. video-game sales finally improved in September after six straight months of double-digit declines.
But the rebound was much more muted than analysts had hoped, a sign the recession has cut deep into consumer spending on interactive entertainment. Even recent console price cuts weren’t enough to push hardware dollar sales higher year-over-year.
Market researcher NPD Group on Monday reported a one per cent increase in September sales of video-game hardware, software and accessories compared to the same month last year. The total came to $1.28 billion US. Year-to-date sales were down 13 per cent.
Hardware sales dropped six per cent to $472.3 million. For the first time since its launch three years ago, Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 sold more units than both the Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360.
“This portrays a very strong consumer reaction to the price decrease, as August and September both realized a lift of more than 70 percent over the prior month,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier of the PlayStation 3′s performance.
Sony cut the price of the PlayStation 3 by $100 in August. Microsoft also slashed the Xbox 360′s price by $100 that month, and Nintendo cut the Wii’s price for the first time since its 2006 launch by $50 in late September. The average retail price of console hardware declined eight per cent from last September.
Hand-held Nintendo DS rules
The top-selling gaming platform was still the hand-held Nintendo DS, for the sixth month in a row.
Microsoft’s “Halo 3: ODST” was by far the month’s bestselling game. It helped push software sales five per cent higher, to $649.3 million, though this was still well below what many analysts expected.
David Magee of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey forecast an increase in the low double digits. Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter expected a 21 per cent jump.
Both The Beatles: Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5 were among the top 10 bestselling games, along with Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort and Madden NFL 10 for the Xbox 360.
Shares of GameStop Corp., the world’s largest video-game retailer, slipped 30 cents to $27.86 in after-hours trading.
Source : http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/10/20/tech-ap-video-game-sales.html
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