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 begun to soften, noting that "it's important to remember that April (2009) is being compared against a month--April 2008--that realized nearly 50 percent growth over April 2007."
Frazier also noted that the industry's performance last month was its second-best April on record, and that unit sales across the board were down just 5 percent, with the rest of the revenue decline coming as a result of reduced "average selling prices."
Still, there's little doubt that the trend line is heading down, both broadly and rapidly. March's numbers were already down 2.7 percent from February's $1.47 billion, and in April, each of the three major video game consoles--Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's PlayStation 3--saw sizable sales drops. Xbox sales were off 47 percent, while the Wii and PS3 were down 43.4 percent and 41.7 percent, respectively.
The only bright spot, on the hardware side of things at least, was the newest generation of Nintendo's DS handheld gaming device, the DSi, which launched during the month. In April, Nintendo sold 1.04 million handhelds, up 84.7 percent for the month.
Perhaps most interesting in those numbers is the steep decline in sales of the Wii, which has been dominating console sales for some time. The Wii did still lead the pack in April, but there have been rumblings about its strength softening in recent months, despite the console now being easy to buy. Earlier in the year, and especially during the holiday season, it was nearly impossible to find a Wii for sale at retail. These days, they are readily available at many stores.
But Frazier, again trying to soften the blow of the April numbers, noted that the Wii's 52.4 percent year-over-year sales drop (Nintendo moved 714,000 Wiis in April 2008) was partly attributable to the fact that a year ago the console's fortunes had been driven by the launch of two "huge new titles: Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart."
On June 22, Geek Gestalt will kick off Road Trip 2009. After driving more than 12,000 miles in the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and the Southeast over the last three years, I'll be looking for the best in technology, science, military, nature, aviation and more in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and South and North Dakota. If you have a suggestion for someplace to visit, drop me a line. And in the meantime, join the Road Trip 2009 Facebook page and follow my Twitter feed.
Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel. 
Wii: April 2008 714K
Wii: April 2009 340K
And you can't blame it on shortages this time. The fall in Wii April sales this year has little to do with the lack of new games this year. It has everything to do with the fact that the Wii was still sold out last year, and demand was exceeding supply last year. This year, supply is far exceeding supply, so sales fell.
Year on year comparisons, April 2008 to 2009 % increase/fall:
Wii down 374,000 from last year.
PS3 down 60k .
360 down 13k.
Jan-April 2009 growth/declines in sales as compared to 2008:
Wii
Jan - April 2009 : 2,373,200
Jan - April 2008 : 2,141,200
Up 10.83%%
360
Jan - April 2009: 1,205,000
Jan - April 2008 : 934,600
Up 28.93%
PS3
Jan - April 2009 : 824,200
Jan - April 2008 : 998,900
(Down 17.48%)
In the coming months, Wii year on year comparisons as compared to last year, are going to keep going down. The Wii is gone end this year selling considerably lower than it did last year in the US.
This year, supply is far exceeding demand, so sales fell
Your math isn't quite right. When supply exceeds demand. Sales are the most they can be. When supply falls short of demand, you sell less than you could have. The goals is for th two to balance.
What that means is if sales fell, it's not supply that's the problem. Likely demand is falling. Which is what the OP said.
Correct. But then when demand exceeded supply, Wii sales were as high as Nintendo could make 'em. They were essentially selling every single Wii they could make, the moment they hit the shops. That is not the case anymore, so yeah, demand has gone down, hence sales went down.
Wii weekly sales these past 3 months:
February: 188.25K per week
March : 120.2K per week(Down 36.14% from from Feb)
April: 85K per week (Down 29.28% from March)
PS2 : 172K 124K +39%
360 : 175K 188K -7%
PS3 : 127K 187K -32%
Wii : 340K 714K -52%
The PS2 peice cut to $100, sent it 's above the PS3, and pretty close to the 360.
And Dude all the MMOs I play, I only play the Free version (most of them are actually really good) http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/show/all/sCol/rankHype/sOrder/desc
I do miss vs, Fighters like SoulCalibur though = (
- by clynx May 16, 2009 5:53 PM PDT
- Windows Live has taken all the fun out of gaming for me. To much hand holding. To be logged in to save games is absurd.
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