The latest sales figures released by NPD for the month of June have shown that it doesn’t always take a multiplatform record breaking game (Grand Theft Auto IV) to boost hardware sales, but an exclusive release (Metal Solid Gear 4: Guns of the Patriots for PS3) might just do the trick.
Furthermore, it seems that the U.S. market is not all about the hardcore gamers, as Nintendo’s Wii managed to steal Microsoft’s number one spot with the Xbox 360, reaching 11,008,200 units sold, compared to the 10,465,900 units for the Xbox.
Last month alone, the Xbox lost to both PS3 and Nintendo, but perhaps the recently announced price cuts in the Xbox 360 might do the trick, although the competition remains fierce and lures consumers with similar strategies (Sony introduced an upgraded version of the PS3 for the same price as the old one).
The U.S. video game industry in June totaled $872.6 million in software sales, up 61% compared to the same period last year, $615.1 million in hardware sales, up 54% compared to June 2007, and $202 million in accessories, up 25%. Overall, the U.S. video games industry totaled $1.69 billion, 53% over last year’s figures in the same period.
As NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier noted in an e-mail, “the video games industry continues to perform in the face of an ever-increasingly difficult economic environment as many turn to more in-home entertainment,” adding that “even if growth slows over the back half of 2008, the industry is poised to achieve record-breaking revenues of over $22 billion for the year.”
BY-eFluxMedia
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