Video game sales in the United States totaled $1 billion for April, 17% lower than in April 2008, according to NPD, the market research firm. This is the second consecutive month in which sales have fallen sharply compared with a year ago, suggesting that the industry is not as recession-proof as it had hoped. Software sales fell 23 percent, while sales of consoles and handheld players dropped 8 percent. In a news release Anita Frazier, an analyst at NPD, said, “This year’s performance still represents the second-best performance for the industry in the month of April.” But it also represents a sharp drop-off, as sales of major consoles have been falling month after month. In February Nintendo sold 753,000 Wii machines but sold only 601,000 in March and 340,000 in April. Microsoft sold 391,000 Xbox 360s in February, 330,000 in March and 175,000 in April.
Source: New York Times
