US video game market back in black, 6% increase on-year

[Matthew DeCarlo]

The US video game market returned to growth last month with a 6% increase on-year, according to NPD. The research house says combined hardware, software, and accessory retail sales in March totaled $1.52 billion, up from $1.44 billion in the year-ago period -- though year-to-date figures are still down 7%.

The firm has Nintendo's consoles pegged as the best sellers, with 557,500 Wii systems and 700,800 DS handhelds shipped during the month. Microsoft trailed with 338,400 Xbox 360s moved, and Sony ranked third with 313,900 PlayStation 3s sold. Sony also shifted some 119,900 PSPs and 118,300 PlayStation 2s.

While the company may have lagged in console sales, Sony's name is plastered all over the list of top-selling titles. God of War III was the most purchased at 1.1 million copies, followed by Pokemon SoulSilver Version at 1.02 million units, and the PS3 copy of Final Fantasy XIII was number three.

It's said that cheaper systems helped boost unit volume, with console prices falling by around 16% last month. Software prices were unchanged.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/38618-us-video-game-market-back-in-black-6-increase-on-year.html

 

[TomSEA]

Yay! Nice to hear after a steady stream of dropping sales over the last 12-18 months. Sure would like to see some PC gaming sales numbers though - especially through digital distributors like D2D and Steam.

 

[Darkshadoe]

Typical gaming company bullsh*t. Yet more proof that piracy isn't the problem they make it out to be.

Make games that people like = profit
Make games people don't like = piracy

 

[Richy2k9]

hello ...

Steam & alike is one of the good things that happened to PC gaming.

LOL @

Make games that people like = profit
Make games people don't like = piracy

So true!

it's quite reassuring to see this.

cheers!

 

[Guest]

I have been wondering this for a long time but who are the 118,300 people still buying PS2's? Also makes me wonder how much money MS lost out on by stopping support on the xbox once the xbox 360 came out.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Guest said:
I have been wondering this for a long time but who are the 118,300 people still buying PS2's? Also makes me wonder how much money MS lost out on by stopping support on the xbox once the xbox 360 came out.

I wonder if the sales figure for the PS2 even factors in the used / trade-in sales of PS2 consoles at outfits like Gamestop? They are still pretty popular, a very cheap console with a wealthy library of readily available games (including some cult favorites that you just can't get elsewhere)... Some are obviously sold as new units, but many are probably purchased to replace worn out units - with the general lack of backward compatibility on the PS3, players with large investments in PS2 game libraries are driven to keep a working PS2 in the household.