The predictions for this year’s US sales of video game
hardware and software seem to be accurate, if we look at the latest report from
NPD Group. Showing a single digit growth, the US gaming market apparently began
to slow down even faster than anticipated, however, the annual revenue objective
continues to be on the right track.
Compared to August last year, last month’s video game sales
rose 9 percent, the most disappointing growth in the past 27 months. However,
despite that, the industry continued its overall growth to 32 percent year-to
date, and is getting closer to its $22 to $24 billion target, as NPD analyst
Anita Frazier pointed out.
Overall, the US video game industry totaled $550.7 million
in software sales, 13 percent up compared to the previous year. Hardware sales
accounted for $394.5 million, up 3 percent, while accessories saw a 13 percent
improvement in sales, to $137.3 million. Overall, the gaming industry totaled
$1.08 billion, showing a downward trend from the previous month, when game
industry sales accounted for $1.19 billion.
Madden NFL 09 from Electronic Arts was title of the month,
occupying first three top 10 spots, with $1,000,000 units sold for the Xbox
360, 643,000 units sold for PS3 and 424,000 units sold for PS2. Madden NFL 09
for Wii came ninth, with 115,800 units sold.
Wii titles also got three spots, just behind Madden, with
Wii Fit with Balance Board (394,000 units), Mario Kart Wii with Wheel (328,700
units) and Wii Play with Remote (200,000 units). Guitar Hero for DS dropped on
number 10 spot, after being third in July, with 111.200 units sold in August.
In terms of hardware sales, there’s no surprise among the
first two top-selling names: Nintendo DS remained first, with 518,300 units
sold, a significant drop from the previous month, while Nintendo Wii came
second, with 453,000 units.
In August, Xbox 360 outsold PS3 by less than 10,000 units,
with 195,200 units sold. However, it wasn’t enough to outsell PlayStation
Portable, which came third with 253,000 units sold. PS2 came last with 144,100
units sold.
GAMES INDUSTRY Sales: $1.08B
Software: $550.7M
Hardware: $394.5M
Accessories: $137.3M
Top-selling HARDWARE:
1.Nintendo DS - 518,300 units
2.Nintendo Wii - 453,000 units
3.PlayStation Portable - 253,000 units
4.Xbox 360 - 195,200 units
5.PlayStation 3 - 185,400 units
6.PlayStation 2 - 144,100 units
Top-selling SOFTWARE:
1. Madden NFL 09 (360)-
Electronic Arts - 1,000,000 units
2. Madden NFL 09 (PS3) - Electronic Arts - 643,000 units
3. Madden NFL 09 (PS2) - Electronic Arts - 424,500 units
4. Wii Fit with Balance Board (Wii) - Nintendo - 394,900 units
5. Mario Kart Wii with Wheel (Wii) - Nintendo - 328,700 units
6. Wii Play with Remote (Wii) - Nintendo - 200,200 units
7. Soulcalibur IV (360) - Namco Bandai - 174,000 units
8. Too Human (360) - Microsoft - 168,200 units
9. Madden NFL 09 (Wii) - Electronic Arts - 115,800 units
10. Guitar Hero: On Tour (NDS) - Activision Blizzard - 111,200 units
