U.S. May Video Game Sales Plunge 23 Percent
U.S. sales of video game hardware, software and accessories were down 23 percent in May to $863.3 million, according to market research firm NPD. It was the first month with sales under $1 billion since August 2007.
Hardware sales were hit the worse, down 30 percent. Software sales were off 17 percent, while accessories were down 25 percent. For the year to date, sales overall are down 7 percent, with hardware off 6 percent, software 8 percent and accessories 5 percent.
Among the consoles, the Nintendo Wii sold 289,500 units, down from 340,000 in April and 601,000 in March. That was followed by the Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 at 175,000, flat with April.
