Video Game Industry Sales Tumble 17% In April

The video game industry had a rough April, with with overall revenues falling 17% from a year ago, according to new data from market research firm NPD . Video game hardware sales were down 8%, while software fell 23%, and accessories declined 15%. In the hardware sector, the Nintendo Wii sold 340,000 units, down sharply from 601,000 in March, while the Microsoft Xbox 360 sold 175,000 units, down from 330,000 in March. Sony sold 172,000 Playstation 2 units and 127,000 Playstation 3 units in the month; that compares to March sales of 112,000 PS2s and 218,000 PS3s. NPD said the big drop in Wii consoles in part reflects the introduction last April of two strong selling titles: Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart. Among the handhelds, Sony sold 116,000 PSPs , down from 168,000 in March, while Nintendo sold 1.04 million DS units, up from 563,000. The big jump in DS units reflects the debut of the new DSi. NPD analyst Anita Frazier noted that April faced a compared ... (link)