Video Game Industry: Plays for you geeks

Video game sales grow in September, but miss estimates

PlayStation 3, Wii sales soar following price cuts; 'Halo' offshoot tops charts:


By Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch





SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sales of video game software grew 5%
during the month of September, reversing a consecutive six-month
decline in game sales but missing expectations by analysts for the
period.
According to data from the NPD Group released late Monday, sales of
game software in the U.S. totaled $649.3 million during the month of
September, up from $617.6 million from the same month last year. Game
hardware sales slipped by 6% to $472.3 million for the same period, in
part because price reductions on the major consoles resulted in lower
revenues.
Analysts had been expecting software sales to grow by 15% for the month
on average, according to reports compiled by MarketWatch.
"The increase in revenues is driven by a rise in average retail prices
in all categories with the exception of console hardware in which the
average retail price decreased 8% from last September," said Anita
Frazier of the NPD Group in the report.
Video game sales have been on the decline for the last six months, as
the slumping economy and tough comparisons have made the current year a
difficult one for the industry. By the end of August, total industry
sales were $9.07 billion, according to NPD data. That's down 14% from
sales for the same period last year.
Analysts widely expect the current year's total sales to come in flat
with last year, but the sector will need to have a strong holiday-sales
period to get to that point. Several of the year's most anticipated
titles, including "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," have yet to hit
store shelves.


Console sales surge




Console makers saw a strong month for unit sales, following a round of price reductions on their devices.



Sony Corp.
/quotes/comstock/13*!sne/quotes/nls/sne
(SNE
29.49,
0.61,
2.11%)

cut back the price on its PlayStation 3 to $299. That helped boost
sales of the PS3 to 491,800 units for the month -- up 134% from the
previous month.
It was also the first time the PS3 outsold the other next-generation consoles since its launch in late 2006.



Nintendo
/quotes/comstock/11i!ntdoy
(NTDO.Y
33.28,
0.28,
0.85%)

lowered the price of its popular Wii console by $50 to bring its price
tag to $199. The Wii sold 462,800 units during September -- up 67% from
the 277,400 units sold in the previous month. The Wii has carried the
same price tag since its initial launch in late 2006.
The Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp.
/quotes/comstock/15*!msft/quotes/nls/msft
(MSFT
26.46,
0.10,
0.38%)
sold 352,600 units in September compared to 215,400 units the month before.





'Halo' leads the pack - again




The top-selling game title for the month was "Halo 3: ODST," a spinoff
of the ultra-popular sci-fi shooter that is one of the industry's most
successful franchises.
The game, which is exclusive to the Xbox 360, sold 1.52 million units
for the month. The release came two years after the release of "Halo
3," a blockbuster that sold more than 3 million units in September of
2007 in its first month of release.
Another popular new release for the month was "Mario and Luigi:
Bowser's Inside Story," for Nintendo's handheld DS device. The game
sold 258,100 units for the month.
"The Beatles: Rock Band" sold 254,000 units for the 360 and another
208,600 units for the Wii. Sales for the PS3 version were not
available. The game was made by MTV Games and Harmonix and was
published by Electronic Arts /quotes/comstock/15*!erts/quotes/nls/erts
(ERTS
20.37,
-0.46,
-2.21%)
.



Another music release, "Guitar Hero 5" from Activision Blizzard
/quotes/comstock/15*!atvi/quotes/nls/atvi
(ATVI
12.40,
-0.13,
-1.04%)
, sold 210,800 units for the 360.



Activision's "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2" sold 236,000 units during
the month. EA's "Madden NFL 10" also remained a strong seller for the
month.











Dan Gallagher is MarketWatch's technology editor, based in San Francisco.