Xbox 360 Game Sales Down By Nearly $20 Million

The 360's 180 was one of the main reasons US game sales for May 2006 were only $286 million, 10 percent below May 2005. NPD figures also fingered weaker-than-expected sales of titles for the PSP, which has seen its momentum slow in recent months. The report also said that sales of DS titles were weaker than expected, even though the number one game for the month was New Super Mario Bros., which generated nearly $9.5 million in sales all by itself.

Overall, what NPD terms "current-generation" software--Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Advance games--slid $96 million to just $188 million for the month, versus May 2005. "Next-generation" software--Xbox 360, DS, and PSP games--hauled in a combined $98 million, far below Wedbush Morgan Securties' analyst Michael Pachter's estimates.

And, according to Pachter, May may only be the beginning. "We think that this trend foreshadows continuing weak sales until the holidays, as we expect continued monthly year-over-year declines of 30-40 percent for current-generation software sales, with next-generation software sales growth failing to offset these declines," he wrote in a report issued today.