(This entry was originally uploaded on May 15, 2009)
According to the latest report of NPD Group, a leading market research company,compared to last year, overall game sales in the U.S. dropped by 17% in April 2009. Sales of video game consoles dropped 8% and games dropped 23%. This refutes the claim that video game industry is recession proof.
The report released on May 14, 2009, said that sales of consoles fell to $392 million in April 2009 compared to $427 in April 2008. Sales of games dropped to $511 million compared to $660 million in the same period last year. Sales of Nintendo Wii, which is currently the most popular gaming console in USA, went down by 50% compared to 2008. Popular games like Guitar Hero could not save itself from poor sales. Nintendo spokeswoman, Denise Kaigler, said that game titles are the main force behind the sales of Nintendo Wii. Last year, Wii sales shot up due to titles like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart. Activision Blizzard Inc., the maker of the Guitar Hero, observed $83 million worth of sales revenue in April 2008 but in April 2009, the company earned only $53 million.
Analyst blamed the widespread discount offerings behind the revenue drop. According to Michael Pachter, analyst, Wedbush Morgan Securities, stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart are luring shoppers buy offering heavy discount which caused a 19% drop in average sales price of games.
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