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Video Game Industry Faces Declines in October

The video game industry continued its downward slide in October with double-digit, year-over-year declines in sales of both hardware and software, according to the NPD Group.

November 9, 2012

The video game industry continued its downward slide in October with double-digit, year-over-year declines in sales of hardware and software, according to the NPD Group.

Total video game sales fell 25 percent from $1 billion in October 2011 to $755.5 million last month, the research firm said in a new report. New hardware sales saw the steepest declines, falling 37 percent from $295.9 million to $187.3 million, while software sales fell 25 percent, from $576.8 million to $432.6 million. Adding in PC games into the mix, total video game software sales decreased from $605.6 million in unit sales a year ago to just $451.8 million last month.

Video game accessories, meanwhile, actually saw sales increase 5 percent to $135.6 million last month from $129.6 million in the year-ago quarter, largely driven by the Skylanders Giants accessories.

"These sales figures represent new physical retail sales of hardware, software and accessories, which account for roughly 50 percent of the total consumer spend on games," NPD industry analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement.

The firm estimates that other physical format sales in September such as used and rentals totaled $101 million, while digital format sales, including full game and add-on content downloads of mobile apps and social network games, totaled $359 million. This brings total consumer spend on games in September to just under $1.2 billion, Callahan said.

As we head into the holiday season, the firm is more hopeful about November sales.

"While October was another month of steep declines in retail sales, we are looking forward to November 2012 with the results of Assassin's Creed III, and Halo 4, which were positively reviewed, as well as the results of Call of Duty: Black Ops II," Callahan said. "These software titles, along with the Wii U launch on November 18, will provide a much needed boost to retail sales."

There are already some signs of improvement. Callahan said that while hardware sales saw year-over-year declines across all platforms, several consoles realized higher sales when looking at average sales per week versus September, including the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and 3DS.

"This is a sign of increasing momentum as we move into the holiday season," he added.

Also, during the launch of Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon While 2, portable software sales increased by 37 percent from last October, but this wasn't enough to offset other console software declines. Other winners during the month included NBA 2K13, which outsold last year's 2K12 by over 60 percent. Skylanders Giants was also popular, earning a spot in the top 10 and selling over 160 percent more units than last year's Skylanders title did in its first month on the market.

Here are the NPD Group's Top 10 video games for retail sales in September:

  • NBA 2K13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PC)**
  • Resident Evil 6 (360, PS3)**
  • Pokemon Black Version 2 (NDS)
  • Dishonored (360, PS3, PC)
  • Pokemon White Version 2 (NDS)
  • Madden NFL 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV)
  • FIFA Soccer 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV, 3DS, PSP)
  • Medal of Honor: Warfighter (360, PS3, PC)
  • Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)**
  • Skylander Giants (Wii, 360, PS3, 3DS)**

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)