NPD: April video game sales down 26 percent
Market research group reports US video game retail sales drop 26 percent in April
U.S. retail sales of video games fell 26 percent in April from a year earlier, to $766.2 million. Few game launches and the shift in the Easter holiday to March hurt results.
Market researcher NPD Group said Thursday hardware sales plunged 37 percent to $249.3 million in April compared with the same month last year.
Software sales dropped 22 percent to $398.5 million, NPD says.
It says sales for the year through the end of April were down 11 percent compared with the same four-month period last year.
Though not as big as the Christmas holiday season, Easter does give game sales a lift, says Jesse Divnich, an analyst with Electronic Entertainment Design and Research.
Copyright 2010  AP News
