Sales of disc-based video games and consoles fall 29%
Traditional disc-based video games and game console sales slid 29% in June, continuing a decline for a seven straight month.
U.S. players spent $699.8 million on game discs, consoles and peripherals in June, down from $989.5 million a year earlier, according to estimates released Thursday by NPD Group Inc. Top titles for the month included “Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes” from Warner Bros. Interactive and “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier,” an adventure shooter game from Ubisoft Entertainment.
Sales of console hardware were most severely hit, down 45% to $201.3 million. Sales of game software fell to $362.8 million, down 27% from $496.3 million last year.
One bright spot was an increase in sales of game accessories. Buoyed by a jump in sales of pre-paid cards that enable players to purchase online game content, the accessories category grew 4% to $169.8 million in June, up from $163 million a year earlier.
Aside from pre-paid cards, the figures don’t include the vast majority of spending on games played online, on social networks and on mobile phones and tablets.
“These sales figures represent new physical retail sales of hardware, software and accessories, which account for roughly 50% to 60% of total consumer spending on games,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said.
Revenue from game rentals and the sale of used games added $170 million to the June total. In addition, spending on digital game downloads, sales of virtual goods and subscriptions for multiplayer online games such as “World of Warcraft” brought $491 million in revenue.
“We would estimate total consumer spending in June to be $1.36 billion,” Frazier said.
Because NPD has only recently tracked digital sales, it offered no historical comparisons.
