NEWS - Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Industry Achieves Second Best September On Record
The US console game market recorded its second bestselling September on record last month, according to data provided by the NPD Group.
Earlier analyst predictions of a return to double-digit growth after six months of year-on-year declines proved to be overblown, with the industry managing only a slight increase over September 2008, as total sales between August 30 and October 3 rose one per cent to $1.28 billion.
NPD analyst Anita Frazier said that the industry was flat on a unit sales basis, but that the revenue increase had been driven by a rise in average retail prices in all categories, with the exception of console hardware.
September hardware sales were down six per cent year-on-year to $472.28 million, software sales increased five per cent to $649.32 million, and sales of accessories were up two per cent to $157.33 million.
Microsoft’s home console contributed the most to industry unit and dollar sales, with Xbox 360 hardware, software and accessories generating $404 million, or 32 per cent of the month’s revenues.
"The industry managed a modest increase over September 2008, and generated the second bestselling September on record after 2007 when Halo 3 released and sold over three million copies that month," said Frazier.
Source: http://www.next-gen.biz
