NEWS - Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Video Game Sales Fall 3 Percent, but...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sales of video game software fell 3 percent in the United States in April, but sales of Microsoft Corp.s Xbox game console more than doubled after a price cut, financial analysts said on Tuesday. Sales of games for the current generation of consoles rose 3 percent, analysts said, citing data from the NPD Group. But with declining sales of games for older platforms, total dollar sales fell in the month. An Xbox price cut to $149 from $179 in late March led to a 135 percent increase in sales, while sales of Sony Corp.s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.s GameCube both fell, analysts said. Sales of the PS2 are expected to rise following Sonys price reduction to $149 last week. Sports games topped the sales charts, led by Electronic Arts Inc.s boxing game "Fight Night 2004" and followed by basketball game "NBA Ballers" from Midway Games Inc. both on PS2.Source: http://www.reuters.com