Video game sales down 8% to $20B last year

video game sales down 8% to $20 billion in 2009NEW YORK’According to leading market research company, The NPD Group, U.S. retail sales of video games, which includes portable and console hardware, software and accessories, generated revenues of close to $19.66 billion, an 8 percent decline over the $21.4 billion generated in 2008.

Retail sales in the PC game software industry also experienced declines, with revenues down 23 percent, generating $538 million in 2009. The total console, portable and PC game software industry generated $10.5 billion, an 11 percent decline vs. the $11.7 billion generated in 2008.

“Clearly, 2009 was tough year for consumers and the national economy,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association. “However, the bigger picture is one that underscores the industry’s strength; 2009 and 2008 were the highest grossing years in our industry’s history. That said, our industry’s structure is solid, and I anticipate a strong 2010 with a pipeline full of highly-anticipated titles.”

Aside from portable hardware which experienced a 6 percent increase in revenue in 2009, all video game categories experienced declines, with the largest decline coming from console hardware (-13 percent). Console software and portable software both experienced declines of 10 percent, while video game accessories experienced a 1 percent decline.

“When we started the last decade, video game industry sales, including PC games, totaled $7.98B in 2000,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “In ten years, the industry has changed dramatically in many ways, but most importantly it was grown over those years by more than 250 percent at retail alone.  Considering there are many new sources of revenue including subscriptions and digital distribution, industry growth is even more impressive.”

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December ’09 Hardware

  1. Wii, 3.81M
  2. Nintendo DS, 3.31M
  3. PlayStation 3, 1.36M
  4. Xbox 360, 1.31M
  5. PSP, 654.7K
  6. PlayStation 2, 333.2K

December ’09 Software

  1. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII, 2.82M
  2. WII FIT PLUS, 2.41M
  3. WII SPORTS RESORT, 1.79M
  4. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 (360), 1.63M
  5. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 (PS3), 1.12M
  6. WII PLAY W/ REMOTE, 1.01M
  7. MARIO KART W/ WHEEL, 936.1K
  8. ASSASSIN’S CREED II (360), 783.1K
  9. LEFT 4 DEAD 2 (360), 728.5K
  10. MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER’S INSIDE STORY, 656.7K

Source: NPD