Total Videogame Sales In U.S. Down 32% In April [Update]

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Total videogame sales fell 32% year-over-year this past April, according to a report by the NPD Group. Software sales fell by 42%, while hardware sales dropped by 32%. Total sales for the month were $630.4 million. Counting other channels of revenue, such as used game sales, rentals, subscriptions and social games, total consumer spend was $1 billion.

 

The NPD Group’s Anita Frazier chalks up the drop in sales partly to Easter falling very early in April, which means most Easter-related purchases—which typically add 10% in sales—took place in March. Also to blame was a lack of high-profile new releases as compared to April of last year.

 

The top ten best-selling games in April were as follows:

 

Rank Title System Publisher
01. Prototype 2 PS3, 360 Activision Blizzard
02. Kinect Star Wars 360 Lucasarts
03. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 PS3, 360, Wii, PC Activision Blizzard
04. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 PS3, 360 Electronic Arts
05. NBA 2K12 PS3, 360, Wii, PC, PSP, PS2 Ubisoft
06. The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings 360, PC Warner Bros.
07. Mario Party 9 Wii Nintendo
08. Mass Effect 3 PS3, 360, PC Electronic Arts
09. Just Dance 3 PS3, 360, Wii Ubisoft
10. MLB 12: The Show PS3, Vita Sony

 

Frazier also noted that, while it wasn’t present in the top-ten, Nintendo’s Kid Icarus: Uprising would have made the top-ten list, were it not for the fact that all console versions of individual games are now listed as a single, combined entry.

 

Update: In case you’re wondering how Xenoblade Chronicles did, it isn’t included in NPD’s report on account of being a retailer-exclusive game, only available through GameStop and Nintendo. Thanks to reader, kylehyde, for pointing this out!


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Author
Image of Ishaan Sahdev
Ishaan Sahdev
Ishaan specializes in game design/sales analysis. He's the former managing editor of Siliconera and wrote the book "The Legend of Zelda - A Complete Development History". He also used to moonlight as a professional manga editor. These days, his day job has nothing to do with games, but the two inform each other nonetheless.