Analysts Predict April Game Sales Slump

Videogame industry analysts are predicting April NPD Group data will show a double-digit decline in sales for the second month in a row, a trend that could signal a softening of a market that has so far bucked the economic downturn.

Games industry analysts told business web site Gamasutra that they expect April sales to be down over the same month last year, mainly due to a game lineup that doesn't quite stack up to 2008's.

"We continue to believe that the video game software sector remains highly recession-resistant," Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told Gamasutra. "But expect more modest gains in 2009 due to a weak start and continuing difficult year-over-year comparisons."

Analysts said April's NPD data could reflect a 17 percent dip in year-over-year sales.

"If April sales exceed $550M, we believe it is a positive sign for the industry and an indication that sales may remain robust for the rest of the calendar year," EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich told Gamasutra. "Sales below $510M would be an indication that consumer spending in the video game sector is beginning to contract over last year and could impact sales in the summer months."

Gamasutra's article points out that April 2009 will see 21 releases that are expected to sell 100,000 copies each, compared to just 11 during the same period last year. However, April 2008 had two games released that sold more than 1 million units each, and none of the games released in April 2009 are expected to break that threshold. Head over to Gamasutra to read the entire article.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/981/981592p1.html