Research group NPD has put out some staggering numbers for the video game industry as a whole in June. Their report claims hardware and software sales fell a staggering 31%, in keeping with several other consumer markets.
The less surprising news is the sales breakdown from June. The Wii remained on its pedestal, selling 362,000 units. The Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3 remained in their respective 2nd and 3rd positions. Nintendo’s DS continues to crush the PSP, selling 767,000 units as compared to the 164,000 PSPs sold.
Personally, I don’t find the drop particularly disconcerting, mostly because it’s industry-wide and, frankly, world-wide. Most markets aren’t looking too hot, and without any major releases in June (Prototype only sold 600,000 units – hush, fanboys) the industry can’t really hope to see big sales. The decline is, however, the largest since 2000. I’ll be interested to see how the rest of the year pans out.
