August NPD: Hardware Plummets, But Software Not So Bad

Darksiders II

Well, at least what we consider to be August's best game topped the software sales charts. Play it to help out.

But once again, overall video game industry sales took another dive last month, as the NPD Group has reported that August's tally of $515.6 million is down 20% year-over-year, which is the same decline reported in July.

Hardware sales were hit hardest, falling 39% to only $150.6 million. But at least game sales didn't fare so badly, dropping only 9% (coming in at $237.7 million) with the aid of a few new releases including the top-ranked Darksiders II, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and the gritty and entertaining Sleeping Dogs. One interesting note- Call of Duty: Black Ops remains on the top 10, coming in at #8, while the more recent Modern Warfare 3 has fallen off the list.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier cited a "domino effect," as the light year of game releases caused August to be down as well, even though August didn't necessarily have fewer releases than 2011.

"One factor contributing to the softness we have seen in retail content sales so far in 2012 has been the decline in the sheer number of new titles [which was not the case in August]. So, what we're seeing impact August results is the domino effect of the light release schedule from earlier in the year. That lack of new releases has had a significant impact on subsequent month’s sales."

The bigger months are ahead, though, so let's hope for an upturn soon.

Tags: npd, august npd, npd sales, video game sales, gaming industry

9/6/2012 8:34:48 PM Ben Dutka

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