US Videogame Sales Rise In February

U.S. sales of videogame console systems and accessories picked up in February, even though software sales fell because of an absence of compelling new games.

Sales of new videogame hardware, software and accessories in the U.S. rose 3% to nearly $1.4 billion from about $1.3 billion in the same period last year, according to research released by NPD Group Thursday. Activision Blizzard Inc.'s (ATVI) "Call of Duty: Black Ops," a blockbuster action game, remained the top-selling title.

NPD's data suggest the videogame industry may be turning up after an extended rough patch prompted by recession-weary consumers. Many consumers cut back on discretionary spending by turning their attention to cheaper games built for mobile phones and popular websites such as Facebook.

Videogame console sales rose 10% to $466.9 million from $426.4 million a year ago. NPD no longer shares data on how each console manufacturer performs.

However, NPD analyst Anita Frazier said Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Xbox 360 was the best-selling videogame device of the month. She said sales surpassed figures from nearly four years ago, when Xbox sales surged because of the release of a popular game that only ran on the system.

The February results likely were bolstered by Microsoft's Kinect motion-controller, which has proved popular since it was released about four months ago. On Wednesday, Microsoft said it shipped its 10 millionth Kinect controller, making it the fastest-ever start for a consumer device. The results also underscored the software company's success with selling casual games like those that made Nintendo Co.'s (NTDOY, 7974.OK) Wii popular among consumers.

Overall, videogame software sales slipped 5% to $601.4 million from $633.6 million a year ago.

Sales of videogame accessories, which include prepaid cards used to purchase digital content for online games, rocketed 22% to $256.9 million from $210 million a year ago. NPD's Frazier attributed the growth to the industry's increasing efforts to drive digitally distributed videogame content.

While upbeat, NPD results don't include the entirety of the videogame industry. The research firm's methods only include retail sales of new packaged games. Sales of used games and mobile apps aren't included in the results. Frazier said both used games and mobile apps were selling well.

-By Ian Sherr, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6455; ian.sherr@dowjones.com

Nintendo (PK) (USOTC:NTDOY)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 6월(6) 2024 으로 7월(7) 2024