New game releases disappoint in the US

New software releases in September have not met expectations in the US, according to Cowan & Company's Doug Creutz.

Microsoft's Halo: Reach sold 3.3 million units during the month, below Cowan's 3.75 million estimate, while Activision's Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, only managed "a fairly dreadful" 86,000 units in its first five days.

He also singled out Nintendo's Metroid: Other M as missing expectations, in the first month that The NPD Group stopped releasing detailed data on individual sales.

Released in August, EA's Madden NFL 11 slowed down in its second month on the market, with unit sales down 11 per cent, with Creutz adding "we continue to expect cumulatively flat year-on-year performance for the franchise through December."

There were "few major surprises at the publishers" during September, said Cowan & Company - including PC software, Activision Blizzard sales were down 41 per cent, EA down 42 per cent, Take-Two down 170 per cent and THQ down 25 per cent compared to the same month last year.

While October is expected to be a stronger month, Creutz lowered full calendar year expectations to be down 5 per cent on 2009.

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