Overall the performance of the videogame industry slid even further to dismal levels during May 2009. The latest data from the US tracking firm NPD Group is in and it shows that videogame sales in the US dropped by 23% year-on-year to 863.3 million in May. Hardware sales were the worst affected, down 30% to 302.5 million, while software sales slipped 17% to 448.9 million.
Hardware sales were dreary, only the Nintendo DS managed to scrape together decent sales with 633 500 units, bolstered no doubt by the recent launch of the DSi. Sales for the rest of the consoles plummeted from the previous year with the Wii selling 289 500 units, the Xbox 360 175 000 and the PS3 131 000. The PS2 followed with 117 00 and the PSP with 100 400 units.
Despite this rather poor showing NPD analyst Anita Frazier remained positive, “The video games industry continues to struggle with difficult comparisons to last year, and this is the first month that industry sales have dipped below $1B since August 2007. May is typically one of the lowest revenue-generating months in any given year for the industry in general.”
The software side of things
THQ’s UFC 2009 Undisputed debuted strongly in the software chart, with combined sales for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions totaling just over a million copies. The Xbox 360 was tops with 679 600 copies, followed by the PS3 version in fourth place with 334 400.
Wii Fit continued to perform well in second place with 352 800 copies while another Wii exclusive EA Sports Active debuted at number 3 with 345 800. Sony’s PS3 exclusive inFamous also recorded a strong debut at number 5 with 175 900 copies.
Top 10 regulars Pokemon Platinum Version and Mario Kart Wii followed in sixth and seventh with 168 900 and 158 300 copies respectively while Punch Out!, the fifth Wii exclusive title to feature in the Top 10, finished eighth with 156 900 copies. X-Men Origins: Wolverine for the Xbox 360 captured ninth place with 120 700 copies and Wii Play rounded off the Top 10 at number 10 with 109 800 copies.
According to Frazier, this month’s Top 10 games, consisting of new titles and evergreens, sold 2.6 million units combined in comparison to last year’s 3.7 million units. “Two third-party titles had a strong showing in May. UFC Undisputed had a great launch selling over a million units across both platforms, while EA Sports Active Bundle, a Wii exclusive, made it into the top 5. There are more new releases in this month’s top 10 list than we have seen for some time. As we mentioned last month, it’s a great time to release new IP, illustrated by May’s strong debuts of EA’s Sports Active and Sony’s InFAMOUS.”
Frazier believes that there are some promising games coming out in June including Sims 3 (PC), Prototype, Red Faction, Virtua Tennis, Ghostbusters, Transformers and Tiger Woods. A number of games for the tween girl market will also be introduced in the coming month. Frazier noted that although “June comparisons are still likely to be tough,” “a wide variety of new content could help reinvigorate things somewhat.”
Here’s Frazier’s take on the new Tiger Woods title: “Tiger Woods titles are typically released in August or September. It will be interesting to watch how the title performs when it’s not competing at retail with Madden, and with the impact of the Wii MotionPlus for the Wii version. Releasing it during the month when the U.S. Open (and consequently Tiger) is getting air time can’t hurt either.”
US Videogame Industry Totals for May 2009
Below is a list of the category, followed by the total and the change in brackets.
- Video games - $863.3 million (-23%)
- Video games hardware - $302.5 million (-30%)
- Video games software - $448.9 million (-17%)
- Video game accessories - $122 million (-25%)
Hardware Sales for May 2009
- Nintendo DS – 633 500
- Wii - 289 500
- Xbox 360 – 175 000
- PS3 – 131 000
- PS2 – 117 000
- PSP – 100 400
Top Ten Software Sales for May 2009
- UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ, Xbox 360) – 679 600
- Wii Fit with Balance Board (Nintendo, Wii) – 352 800
- EA Sports Active Bundle (EA, Wii) – 345 800
- UFC 2009 Undisputed (THQ, PS3) – 334 400
- inFAMOUS (Sony, PS3) – 175 900
- Pokemon Platinum Version (Nintendo, DS) – 168 900
- Mario Kart Wii with Wii Wheel (Nintendo, Wii) – 158 300
- Punch Out! (Nintendo, Wii) – 156 900
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (Activision Blizzard, Xbox 360) – 120 700
- Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) – 109 800
(Figures include Collector’s Edition and non-hardware bundles)
Source: NPD
2009/06/12 09:39:00 AM