2nd UPDATE: US Videogame Sales Fall 23% In April
15 5월 2009 - 9:03AM
Dow Jones News
U.S. videogame sales fell 23% in April, which is worse than some
had expected, and game console sales stumbled, NPD Group reported
Thursday.
The poor performance was due to the slowing economy, few
blockbuster releases during the month and a tough comparison with a
year-ago period that featured several breakaway hit games. Sales of
Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (NTDOY) new DSi handheld, and the Easter
holiday sales uptick kept things from being worse.
NPD reported total U.S. spending on both videogames and consoles
fell 17% in April to $1.03 billion. This is the second consecutive
month that videogame sales have disappointed. Wall Street analysts
had expected sales to remain flat in March, but games and console
sales fell around 17% each.
Game sales fared the worst last month, with spending falling to
$510 million. The decline is worse than the 17% drop expected by
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, but in line with the
expectations of Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian.
Videogame console sales were driven largely by Nintendo's new
handheld, the DSi. About 800,000 DSi's were sold during the month,
and represented nearly a third of all console sales.
But sales of Nintendo' Wii fell about 52%, and Sony Corp. (SNE)
PS3 sales dropped by nearly a third. Xbox 360s from Microsoft Corp.
(MSFT) held up a little better, but the console still sold fewer
units than last April, NPD reported.
While the recession is taking its toll, a major challenge for
the videogame industry continues to be the difficult comparison
with the previous year. Sales this April are paired with a month in
which Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s (TTWO) "Grand Theft Auto
IV" and a "Mario" game for Nintendo's Wii were introduced, and went
on to sell millions of copies in the month. The games generated
large sales of consoles as well.
"There was nothing similar from a new title standpoint to drive
growth over those numbers," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of
Nintendo of America.
NPD analyst Anita Frazier said the industry in April showed
recession resilience. "While the continued difficult economic
environment is a factor to consider, video games is the category
that consumers tell us they're least likely to cut their spending
on in coming months," she said.
In Thursday's trading, Sony shares added 1.6% to $26.26,
Microsoft added 1.6% to $20.06.
-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230;
ben.charny@dowjones.com