Research firm NPD Group released its latest game industry numbers that indicate the U.S. industry is still having problems, as the struggling global economy and lack of blockbuster games continues to cause sales issues.
In the U.S. during August, sales numbers totaled $908 million, which is down 16% from the $1.09 billion industry it was last August. This is the sixth consecutive month video game sales declined, leading analysts to believe not even a strong holiday shopping season will help the industry.
For the 2009 sales to be flat with 2008 overall sales, then video game and console sales must grow 14% through the rest of the year.
"The industry realized its sixth consecutive month-over-month decline, and while improved over the last several months, it's still a notable decline," said Anita Frazier, NPD Group analyst. "The back four months of the year would have to be up 14 percent in aggregate for 2009 to come in flat in comparison to 2008 sales."
The top selling game in August was Madden NFL '10 for the Microsoft Xbox 360, with Wii Sports Resort and Madden NFL 10 for the Sony PlayStation 3 rounding out the top three game titles.
As an avid Xbox 360 and PC gamer, I have not been pleased with the video game titles available the past few months. Sure, there have been a couple of new releases that intrigued me -- but similar to many of my gaming friends, I've spent time playing older games.
Have you found any video games the past couple of months that you've enjoyed?
