NPD: Video Game Sales in April Continue to Decline

10 May, 2012 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Sales of new physical media video games in April topped $630 million, which was 32% less than the $931 million generated during the same period last, according to new video game data from The NPD Group.

Total software sales (excluding new games) dropped 42% to $307.2 million, compared with $533.7 million last year. Despite the enduring appeal of Xbox 360, hardware sales dropped 32% to $189.7 million from $279.9 million last year.

The lone bright spot: Video game accessories spiked up 1% to $148.6 million from $147.8 million last year.

Top-ranked sellers included (in descending order): Prototype 2 (Activision Blizzard); Kinect Star Wars (Lucasarts); Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard); Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (Electronic Arts); NBA 2K12 (Take 2); The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (Warner); Mario Party 9 (Nintendo); Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts); Just Dance 3 (Ubisoft); and MLB 12: The Show (Sony).

“This year, Easter fell very early in April, which means most Easter-related purchases may have fallen into March this year,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “We usually find that Easter-related purchases generate an extra 10% in revenue in the month they occur, so some of the softness compared to last April could be attributed to the shift in Easter timing.”

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