Originally seen as one of the few entertainment markets unfazed by the economy, video game sales in April declined 17 percent when compared to the same time period last year.
NPD Group said the decline is a combination of a lack of major game titles being released and a struggling economy that has forced many gamers to cut back on the number of titles they purchase.
Last year in April, Mario Kart Wii and Grand Theft Auto IV were released, which gave the sales charts a major boost that couldn't be duplicated in 2009. This year, the top selling game title in April was Wii Fit, with 471,000 copies sold. Not surprisingly, Pokemon Platinum Version and Mario Kart Wii, both titles for the Wii and DS, rounded out the top three.
"While April sales might appear soft on the surface, it's important to remember that April is being compared against a month (April 2008) that realized nearly 50 percent growth over April 2007," NPD Group spokesperson Anita Frazier said in a statement.
Game hardware sales also suffered, with the Nintendo DSi handheld console the lone exception, NPD numbers report. The DS sold a total of 1.04 million units in April, with the Nintendo Wii game console in second place with only 340,000 units sold.
Even with massive price cuts since their release, both the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 trail the Wii -- although shipped with less powerful hardware, the more appealing game catalog has drawn consumers to the Wii.
Are you still purchasing video games you're interested in, or saving money while waiting for a major game title to be released?
