John-ShepardYep, we need the next generation to get here ASAP.
The May NPD results have rolled in , and the video game industry in the US slid another 25% to only $386.3 million.
However, they once again remind everyone that the number represents only about half of the true consumer retail spend for the month. That's because the digital space continues to grow, of course. NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan says that the combined haul between digital and physical games hit $787 million, which is a much more agreeable number.
The well-received Injustice: Gods Among Us topped the software chart for May, followed by Call of Duty: Black Ops II , Donkey Kong: Country Returns , Dead Island Riptide , and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. Unfortunately, overall software sales fell 44% to $187.6 million. As for hardware, that number dove 31% to a paltry $96 million and the Xbox 360 was the top-selling console for the 29th straight month, shifting 114,000 units. Nintendo's 3DS was just behind. Added Callahan:
"Softness in new physical entertainment software sales stemmed from a decline in the number of new launches, with over 30 percent fewer new SKUs, as well as poor performance of the new SKUs that were released. New SKUs generated over seventy percent less units on a per-SKU basis, and a decrease of over eighty percent revenue per SKU."
Analyst are predicting that when the new consoles (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) hit later this year, the industry will experience its first upswing in quite some time. Let's hope that prediction comes true.
All the more reason for the next gen to be a big hit.