npd

Study: Consumers confused over Netbooks vs. notebooks

Quick question: What's the difference between a Netbook and a notebook? Apparently, a lot of people aren't sure.

Only 58 percent of consumers who bought a Netbook over a notebook said they were very satisfied with their purchase, according to a study released Tuesday by researcher NPD Group. That compares with a 70 percent satisfaction rate from consumers who planned on buying a Netbook from the start.

NPD found that the level of dissatisfaction stemmed from confusion over the capabilities of a Netbook. The study, "NPD's Netbooks II: A Closer Look," discovered that 60 percent … Read more

Nintendo outsells competition nearly 2 to 1 in May

Video game sales were down by 23 percent in May, according to the latest data from NPD Group. The bright spot of the report is the ongoing domination by Nintendo, whose hardware and associated games outsold the competition by nearly 2 to 1.

As CNET's Lance Whitney reported, "NPD blamed most of the decline on the lack of blockbuster games rather than the weak economy. The report noted that last year's sales were boosted by the launch of popular software titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV. Nintendo's Wii Fit also was a hot commodity in 2008."

While there are a wealth of new games coming in 2009, including what appear to be some winners for PS3 and Xbox, Nintendo platform games made up just shy of 50 percent of the top 10 sales in May:

UFC 2009 Undisputed(THQ) Xbox 360 - 679,600 Wii Fit(Nintendo) Wii - 352,800 EA Sports Active(EA) Wii - 345,800 UFC 2009 Undisputed(THQ) PS3 - 334,400 Infamous(Sony) PS3 - 175,900 Pokemon Platinum(Nintendo) DS - 168,900 Mario Kart(Nintendo) Wii - 158,300 Punch Out!!(Nintendo) Wii - 156,900 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged(Activision) Xbox 360 - 120,700 Wii Play(Nintendo) Wii - 109,800 Total Nintendo software: 1,292,500 Total other vendor software: 1,310,600

Video game industry sales sink 23 percent in U.S.

Video game industry sales in the U.S. dropped 23 percent to $863 million in May compared with $1.12 billion a year ago, according to a new report.

This marked the first time since August 2007 that monthly sales dipped below $1 billion, NPD Group said Thursday in its report.

The drop was felt across the board as gamers coughed up less cash for hardware, software, and accessories. Sales for hardware fell 30 percent year over year to $302.5 million. Software revenue was down 17 percent to $449 million, while sales of gaming accessories tumbled 25 percent to $… Read more

Survey: More people play video games than go to movies

People who prefer playing a home video game to going out to the movies are in good company, according to a recent survey.

Almost 64 percent of Americans have played a video game in the past six months versus only 53 percent who have gone out to see a movie, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group.

The March report, part of NPD's "Entertainment Trends in America" study, also noted that consumers now splurge one-third of their entertainment dollar on video games. The average gamer spent a bit more than $38 per month, with … Read more

Game sales slump: Blame the games

Correction at 8:30 a.m. PDT: The release dates for Fallout 3 and for The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena were incorrect. They have been removed from the list of 2009 and 2008 releases, respectively.

The video game industry is going through some tough times. When NPD Group released video game sales data for April last week, the results were disheartening.

According to NPD, total industry revenue was down 17 percent, year over year. Software sales for the month were down 30 percent, compared to April 2008. Wii sales were off 43 percent, PS3 sales slumped by 42 percent, and Xbox 360 sales were down 47 percent, compared to March 2009.

So what happened? Is the video game industry finally being affected by the recession? It's possible that it has some impact. But I don't think there's any better reason for the decline than the games themselves.

If the games aren't compelling, consumers won't be buying.… Read more

Mac, iPod retail sales dip in April

Just like February, April was a gloomy month for Apple retail sales of Macs and iPods, according to data gathered by the NPD Group.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster analyzed the monthly data from NPD's April roundup of Apple sales. He said in a research note Monday that April Mac sales were down 1.8 percent from a year ago. Assuming similar patterns for May and June, that should lead to total quarterly sales of 2.1 million to 2.3 million Macs, which would be an 8 percent to 16 percent decline in unit growth, he writes. If … Read more

Video game industry sales down 17 percent--again

For the second straight month, video game industry sales tumbled nearly 17 percent year over year, a downward trend for a market segment that had previously seemed resistant to the economic pressures of the recession.

In April, according to industry analyst NPD Group, the industry posted revenue of $1.03 billion, down 16.9 percent from the $1.24 billion it recorded in April 2008. Sales for the month were also down 30 percent from $1.43 billion in March.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier cautioned in a report that it's hard to reach the conclusion that the industry has … Read more

Survey: Consumers prefer DVDs to downloads

Consumers have spoken. They'd still rather pop a disc into a DVD player than download or watch a video online, according to a new survey.

Sales and rentals of DVDs and Blu-ray discs in the U.S. made up 88 percent of consumer home video spending over the past three months, according to the survey released Tuesday by market researcher NPD Group.

Your average U.S. consumer paid about $25 per month on video purchases and rentals, with 63 percent on DVD purchases, 7 percent on Blu-ray Disc purchases, 18 percent on rentals, 9 percent on video on demand, … Read more

Blu-ray player sales on the rise, report says

I haven't bought a DVD in more than a year. Since getting a PlayStation 3--which plays Blu-ray Discs--I just find it difficult to justify paying a slightly lower price (for a DVD) for a noticeably lower quality picture.

It wasn't always that way. There was a time when I didn't understand the appeal of Blu-ray. Now, it's difficult for me to even watch a standard DVD. Even the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy--which was the holy grail for me for DVD picture quality only a few years back--disappoints me to watch.

It appears I'… Read more

Video game sales hit the wall in March

New March sales data from NPD Group reveals that video game sales are finally being hit (and hit hard) by the recession. Despite a strong showing through February, March sales across the board dropped by 15 percent to 18 percent year over year from 2008 to 2009.

As reported on Gamespot.com:

Although unnerving on their own, NPD's March numbers also signaled a more alarming trend. When taken into account, the month's numbers caused 2009's first-quarter game sales to go from solid growth to a near flat line. For the January-March period, the U.S. game industry … Read more