Reuters reports that data from NPD shows that video game sales plunged for the third straight month in May. Video game sales fell 23% and game sales dropped below $1 billion in May - the first time that's happened in two years. A lack of hit games combined with the weak economy is blamed for the plunging sales in video games.
U.S. sales of video games dived 23 percent to $863 million in May, research group NPD said on Thursday, dipping below the $1 billion threshold for the first time since August 2007 as consumer spending weakened and hardware makers waged a price war.
In the year to May, video games sales -- considered by NPD to include hardware, software, and accessories -- slipped 7 percent from a year earlier to $6.1 billion.
Among makers of gaming hardware, Nintendo (7974.OS) again led the pack with 633,500 of its "DS" portable gaming devices and 289,500 of its Wii platforms sold, dwarfing the 175,000 Microsoft (MSFT.O) Xbox units that moved in May.
"May is typically one of the lowest revenue-generating months in any given year for the industry in general," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "The dollar sales decline was exacerbated by a decline in average retail prices for almost all of the categories."
A lack of hit games were also blamed for weak sales in prior months. After a while that excuse just doesn't work. They didn't just stop trying to make fun and interesting video games. The economy is likely the biggest reason for such a big drop in video game sales.
