US Video Games Sales Suffer the "Halo 3 Effect"
Last September aside, still a solid performance
NPD, which tracks games industry sales statistics in the US, has released its data for September, showing that sales have dropped off year-on-year. Total sales of $1.27 billion (£733.4 million, or €944.3 million) were recorded for the month, compared to $1.35 billion (£780.3 million, or €1 billion) for September last year.
Before we declare the games industry a victim of the end of capitalism, however, let us listen to the words of Anita Frazier, NPD analyst. “Keep in mind that Halo 3 was $225 million (£130 million, or €167.5 million) in sales last September - representing 17% of the total month's revenues and 35% of total software revenue. It's fair to say it would be hard to top that", she said. Compared to other Septembers, the results still "look pretty impressive", she added.
Hardware took the biggest hit, down 9% to $497.98 million (£288 million, or €370.5 million). You might be tempted to assume that the decline in hardware sales can't all be attributed to Halo 3's presence last year, but keep in mind a whopping 527,800 Xbox 360 units were sold last September, driven by the game. Software sales dropped off 6% to $616.09 million (£356 million, or €458 million). Accessories saw the smallest drop-off, dipping by 3% to $152.59 million (£88.2 million, or €113.5 million).
For the year so far, US games industry sales are still up on last year by 26%, totalling $11.82 billion (£6.83 billion, or €8.79 billion).
Unsurprisingly, the Wii led the way in console sales. The 360 fared notably well with 347,200 sales, no doubt due to price cut. The full breakdown of hardware sales goes as follows:
Wii: 687,000
DS: 536,800
Xbox 360: 347,200
PS3: 232,400
PSP: 238,100
PS2: 173,500
On the software front, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed led the charge on the 360, while the PS3 version was the only game on that platform to make the Top 10. You can see the job lot below.
1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Xbox 360 – LucasArts – 610,000
2. Wii Fit - Wii – Nintendo – 518,000
3. Rock Band 2 - Xbox 360 – MTV Games/EA – 363,000
4. Mario Kart Wii - Wii – Nintendo – 353,000
5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - PS3 – LucasArts – 325,000
6. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames - Xbox 360 – EA – 297,000
7. Wii Play - Wii – Nintendo – 243,000
8. Madden NFL 09 - Xbox 360 – EA – 224,000
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Wii – LucasArts – 223,000
10. Madden NFL 09 - PS2 – EA – 158,000
Source: GameDaily
Before we declare the games industry a victim of the end of capitalism, however, let us listen to the words of Anita Frazier, NPD analyst. “Keep in mind that Halo 3 was $225 million (£130 million, or €167.5 million) in sales last September - representing 17% of the total month's revenues and 35% of total software revenue. It's fair to say it would be hard to top that", she said. Compared to other Septembers, the results still "look pretty impressive", she added.
Hardware took the biggest hit, down 9% to $497.98 million (£288 million, or €370.5 million). You might be tempted to assume that the decline in hardware sales can't all be attributed to Halo 3's presence last year, but keep in mind a whopping 527,800 Xbox 360 units were sold last September, driven by the game. Software sales dropped off 6% to $616.09 million (£356 million, or €458 million). Accessories saw the smallest drop-off, dipping by 3% to $152.59 million (£88.2 million, or €113.5 million).
For the year so far, US games industry sales are still up on last year by 26%, totalling $11.82 billion (£6.83 billion, or €8.79 billion).
Unsurprisingly, the Wii led the way in console sales. The 360 fared notably well with 347,200 sales, no doubt due to price cut. The full breakdown of hardware sales goes as follows:
Wii: 687,000
DS: 536,800
Xbox 360: 347,200
PS3: 232,400
PSP: 238,100
PS2: 173,500
On the software front, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed led the charge on the 360, while the PS3 version was the only game on that platform to make the Top 10. You can see the job lot below.
1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Xbox 360 – LucasArts – 610,000
2. Wii Fit - Wii – Nintendo – 518,000
3. Rock Band 2 - Xbox 360 – MTV Games/EA – 363,000
4. Mario Kart Wii - Wii – Nintendo – 353,000
5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - PS3 – LucasArts – 325,000
6. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames - Xbox 360 – EA – 297,000
7. Wii Play - Wii – Nintendo – 243,000
8. Madden NFL 09 - Xbox 360 – EA – 224,000
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Wii – LucasArts – 223,000
10. Madden NFL 09 - PS2 – EA – 158,000
Source: GameDaily
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