April saw the video game industry suffer through its worst month in nearly 10 years, as both hardware and software sales tumbled for a combined total of 26%. Consoles saw the biggest decrease with a 36% drop to $398.5 million, while software titles and accessories fell 22% and 9% to $249.3 and $118.4 million respectively. According to NPD research analyst Anita Frazier, some of the decline has to do with Easter falling in early April. If it were to have fallen in the middle of the month as it did last year, Frazier believes the month would have seen an additional $55 million in sales. So what system suffered the most last month? That unfortunate title belongs to the Nintendo Wii which sold 50% less units than it did in March. On the bright side, it did manage to hold on to its title as the top-selling non-portable console with 277,200 units sold. Coming in second was Xbox 360 with 185,400 units sold, followed closely by the PS3 at 180,800. As for portables, sales of the Nintendo DS — fast approaching the Playstation 2 as being the best-selling console in history — were down 37% to 440,800 while the PSP essentially lost its will to exist selling only 65,500 for a drop of 44%. As for the top selling games… well, you’re just going to have to hit up the jump to find out. You wouldn’t want the home page of BGR to start looking cluttered, would you?
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction – Xbox 360
- Pokémon Soul Silver – DS
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Wii
- Pokemon Heart Gold – DS
- God of War III – PS3
- Wii Sports Resort with Wii Motion Plus – Wii
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Xbox 360
- Wii Fit Plus – Wii
- Just Dance – Wii
- Super Street Fighter IV – PS3
[Image: Toothpaste for Dinner]
