As the global economy caused many industries to suffer over the past year, the video game industry seemed immune to any economic struggles... until now.
In research company NPD Group's latest study, the group said U.S. console and software sales dropped 31 percent -- down to $1.17 billion -- in the month of June. Overall hardware sales dropped 38 percent, with gaming software falling 29 percent, and gaming accessories faltering 22 percent.
"This is one of the first months where I think the impact of the economy is clearly reflected in the sales numbers," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in the report.
Even though the Nintendo Wii suffered a 45 percent sales drop compared to June '08, it remained the most popular game console among U.S. shoppers. The Microsoft Xbox 360 trailed the Wii in Japan and the United States, but slowly made up ground on the popular Japanese game console.
In an interview with PC World, Microsoft Xbox Live product manager Aaron Greenberg discussed the recent NPD figures.
"The Xbox 360 saw system sales grow 9 percent year-over-year with 241,000 systems sold and great performance on the game side. It tends to be a repeat of what we've seen month after month. I mean, June, as we all know, is a pretty slow month."
Sony said it doesn't plan to cut prices this holiday season, while the Xbox 360 and Wii may see price reductions. This Christmas will be especially interesting since it's extremely likely all three game consoles will receive price cuts. In addition to the price cuts, Microsoft is expected to announce at least one new game console bundle, while gamers are waiting to see if the Wii drops below $249.
