- Wednesday's Economic News Crunch Could Tilt Markets
- Call Me Crazy: Confessions of a Black Friday Shopper
- US Firms Hit by Payroll Taxes at Exactly the Wrong Time
- Citi Mortgage Reveals Something the US Treasury Won't
- Fed Sanguine About US Recovery, Worried on Jobs
- Amended Berkshire Filing Reveals No 'Secret' Holdings
- In Time for Holidays: More Gloom and Doom on Economy
- Holiday Guide to This Season's Smartphones
- Market Pros Reveal Top Black Friday Trades
- Citi Mortgage Reveals What Treasury Won't
- S&P to Hit 1,200 by Year-End: Chief Investor
- Amended Berkshire Hathaway Filing Indicates No Secret Stock Stakes at End of Q3
- Facebook's Biggest-Ever Holiday Shopping Season
- Facebook's New Dual Class Structure - Slow Steps to an IPO
- 5 Big Bank Stocks Investors Should Consider: Strategists
- Gambling Drunk, Texting to Live And America's On Sale - Your Emails
- Nov. 24: Unusual Volume Leaders
- NBA D-League On The Rise
MOST SHARED
- The 'Real' Jobless Rate: 17.5% Of Workers Are Unemployed
- Citi Mortgage Reveals What Treasury Won't
- Wednesday's Economic News Crunch Could Tilt Markets
- NBA D-League On The Rise
- Trading Block
- Amended Berkshire Hathaway Filing Indicates No Secret Stock Stakes at End of Q3
- Japan Export Rebound Eases Fear of New Recession
- Australia Wheat Exporters Face Challenges: GrainCorp
- Australia's Economy Upswing to Last Years: Central Banker
- The Social Media Gaming Threat
Text Size 
Sales of video game equipment and software in the United States tumbled 19 percent in October to $1.07 billion, research group NPD said on Thursday, troubling figures as the industry heads into the most important selling weeks of the year.
 |
Once thought to be relatively insulated from economic concerns, video games have had a difficult year, with sales in the once robust music software category flagging and few blockbuster titles to compel worried consumers to spend.
Price cuts on the home game consoles have had little impact, as evidenced by a 23 percent decline in U.S. hardware sales in October.
"It's clear that the consumer's not back yet," said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. "The games were good, but hardware was surprisingly low."
Nintendo's Wii returned to the No. 1 in the monthly home game console rankings, following last month's surge to the top by Sony Corp's [SNE
Loading...
()
]PlayStation 3.
The Wii sold 507,000 units in the U.S. in October, followed by 321,000 for the PS3 and 250,000 for Microsoft Corp [MSFT
Loading...
()
]and its Xbox 360. Sony said the PS3 was the only console to see year-over-year growth.
But Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime sounded upbeat on the remainder of the year and disputed the notion that demand for the Wii and DS handheld system are fading.
"Our projections for November and December continue to be very strong. We have seen some holiday seasonal pickup, which means consumers are out and buying."
U.S. software sales dropped 18 percent in October, NPD said, while sales of video game accessories were off 2 percent. Sony's "Uncharted 2" was the top-selling title in the month.
The music/dance category continued to be a thorn in the side of the industry, with sales down 60 percent from a year ago.
"The continued economic turmoil, and in particular the troubling unemployment rate, is undoubtedly impacting industry sales," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement.
Earlier this week, software giant Electronic Arts said it would slash 1,500 jobs in another round of cost-cutting.
Still, there are some bright spots in the industry. Activision Blizzard said Thursday it smashed first-day sales records with the launch of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" earlier in the week.
- Remember when auto shows were major events where new models could generate buzz?
- CNBC’s Mike Huckman visits a cutting-edge plant to see how the flu vaccine of the future is being made.
- People who bottle up their anger at work are up to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack, a study found.
- Playboy will outsource its publishing operations in a bid to become profitable again.
- A new McDonald's in Manhattan is the nation's first to sport a sleek, chic interior imported from stores in London and Paris.
- For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes