So much for the notion that video game sales would turn around in August. Slumping sales pushed the slide for video game sales to six straight months. During August, 15% fewer games were sold than a year earlier, and the drop was more than industry analysts expected.
Just because the overall sales dropped, it doesn't mean that some companies didn't turn in a good month. Sony (NYSE: SNE) saw sales increase, thanks to the company's decision to slash the price of its wildly popular PlayStation 3.
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FeedVideo game sales fall for a sixth straight month
Continue reading Video game sales fall for a sixth straight month
Video game sales drop again; recovery still far away
May marked the third-straight month that video game software sales dropped, a sign that the economic downturn continues to weigh on the gaming sector. NPD Group released its video game sales data yesterday afternoon, reflecting sales that fell to $448.9 million during May. These monthly results are 17% lower than the same period last year. The drop in software sales was somewhat expected, as the Street called for a drop between 15% and 20%. Hardware sales dropped 30% during May, totaling $302.5 million. But the comparisons are difficult as major hits were released during spring 2008, including Grand Theft Auto IV, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There were no such major hits released this year.
Continue reading Video game sales drop again; recovery still far away
Video game industry rakes in $3 billion in November
When Doug referenced the video game industry a few days ago in terms of possible weak sales, I agreed. Are Americans really ponying up hundreds of dollars for consoles and approximately $50 a pop for video games with all the financial hurt many citizens are going through? You would think not, but they are. Thanks to video game console makers Nintendo Ltd., Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE), video game sales growth in November was up about 10% compared to the year-ago period. That's right -- we spent $2.91 billion last month on video games. Perhaps savings in gas prompted the upswing?
NPD indicated that a broad range of games for all the major gaming consoles was the reason for the solid uptick in November. In addition to the nearly $3 billion on video game software, Americans spent another $1.21 billion in hardware sales. Forecasts are for an industry rake of nearly $22 billion for 2008.
Instead of DVD rentals, iTunes downloads and actually -- gasp -- going out to the movies, video games seem to be taking market share from other forms of entertainment. I would posit that those pulling money from the market stash some of that cash into video games, lest you play a roller-coaster type of game rather than ride the real thing on Wall Street.
After wild week, stocks sell down, Dow, S&P, Nasdaq all down
In terms of volatile trading, it would be hard to match the last week. The markets opened today facing huge lay-offs at tech firm Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) and with Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) saying consumer buying was so broken that cellphone sales, which have grown worldwide for years, will drop in 2009.
When the opening bell rang at 9.30, it looked like the world had gone to hell. For reasons that no one can explain, trading settled down and the markets closed down modestly (by current standards):
Dow: 8,497.31 -337.94 (-3.82%)
S&P: 500 873.29 -38.00 (-4.17%)
Nasdaq: 1,516.85 -79.85 (-5.00%)
Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) moved down nearly 4%, probably based on the Nokia news. Since both PC and handset sales are weak, Apple has some real exposure.
On a tiny bit of hope that Congress still might send them a check this year, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) were flat to slightly up.
Research from the music video game industry showed slow sales and Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) took big tumbles.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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