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If it weren't for stereotypes, we'd say diehard gamers unplugged for a week of romancing and lovemaking to celebrate Valentine's Day last month, which would explain why NPD Group noted such a sharp decline in videogame sales in February. We don't condone stereotypes, but let's get real, February was just a crummy month for game sales and it had nothing to do with there being a day for lovers.
That wouldn't explain a 20 percent drop in sales from $1.33 billion in February 2011 to $1.06 billion a year later. Software was the worst offender, dropping 24 percent to $485.7 million, while non-PC hardware sales also took a double-digit hit, declining 18 percent to $381.4 million, according to NPD Group's data. Sales of accessories also fell into a funk, dropping 16 percent to $215.2 million compared to one year prior.
While NPD Group didn't say why sales fell so sharply, we can surmise it's not from a lack of awesome titles. The top 10 list of 10 games for February 2012 looks like this:
In somewhat releated news, Skyrim, which appears at No. 8 on NPD Group's list of top selling games, was named the Game of the Year at the 2012 Game Developers Choice Awards earlier this week.
Image Credit: THQ
Comments are closed on this article
SnuffThePunkz
March 12, 2012 at 9:06pm
Am I the only person amused and wondering why there is a Pride era photo of Mayhem Miller for this article? Could have at least picked something from an organization that is still around, like the UFC... A game actually in this article...
LatiosXT
March 12, 2012 at 8:18am
I think, aside from the PlayStation Vita, nothing big and exciting came out in the month.
Penterax
March 10, 2012 at 3:24pm
Not sure how important tracking sales for one month is (in this context anyway).
I mean, what are they going to say in September when Borderlands 2 is released, or when Mists of Pandoria is released for WoW? These kinds of things are really bumps in short-term views of sales, effecting the company and users specifically, and only a sign of what's happening in the world of video games in the big picture, not in the narrowly defined monthly one.
Basing your financial decisions on a 1-month dip in sales is reacting hysterically.
;)
OCFRED
March 10, 2012 at 1:11pm
It's all about "call of booty, modern whorefare" anyway ;-), a few years back a job had me seeing the interiors of lots of subprime foreclosed houses before all the trash was hauled out. Around 30%+ ALWAYS had empty booze containers, a box from a massive flat panel TV and empty boxes of those "Rock Band" pseudo musical instruments. Not gonna say frivolous purchases like these and/or dubs on the Kia exacerbated the equity and liquidity crisis though clearly it was a symptom.
Penterax
March 10, 2012 at 3:16pm
"Around 30% ALWAYS had empty booze containers. . ."
I don't think you understand what the word "always" means.
Either all of them contained those things, or 30% of them did, but they couldn't all contain those things when you found them in only 30% of what you saw.
OCFRED
March 12, 2012 at 2:33am
Missed the +, a MINIMUM of 30% as in >30%; to clarify further the ones with TV and game remnants did in fact have can and bottles littered about around 95% of the time which is pretty damn close to ALWAYS....
imagonex
March 09, 2012 at 4:31pm
We need Oprah to endorse PC gaming! Man, do that and STEAM won't be able to keep up with the bandwidth. Oprah! HELP!!
ApathyCurve
March 09, 2012 at 1:49pm
Dunno what caused it, and honestly don't care. But that photo accompanying the article is hysterically funny.
EKRboi
March 09, 2012 at 11:39am
Its not for lack of wanting to buy a new game.. I look at steam regularly for specials and new games. I dont think ive purchased anything new this year at all. Without actually looking at my bank statements I would say I prob spent $200-300 on video games between october and december 2011. Why? because there was a slew of great new games, and im a sucker for a good deal on older games on steam..
TommM
March 09, 2012 at 11:02am
I'm sure the fact that Skyrim - which has an estimated 300 hours of content if you participate in every quest - has a fair amount of people hunkered down and not out buying anything new.
Not to mention nothing good was released anyway in February which has already been mentioned. Wait until the March figures come out with the big ME3 release and a few other hopeful good games (Warp, Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai, Tribes: Ascend, etc.) coming out.
I don't think the industry is suffering by any stretch. ;)
B_H
March 09, 2012 at 11:01am
I'm going to warrentlessly speculate that Double Fine's kickstarter sucked up everyone's gaming budget for the month.
schmag
March 09, 2012 at 10:43am
yeah there are a couple games that I would like to purchase.
bf3, and Skyrim. but $60.00 say by the time I am done going to a movie in a theatre it costs me $10.00 I am entertained for 2 hours. that is 5.00 an hour entertainment. I would have to play those games for at least 12 hours to get my moneys worth, that is just comparing it to a theatre how many other forms of cheaper entertainment are out there. I want CS GO and Diablo III, I am sure they will want 60.00 for each of them. I am holding out. $60.00 especially for a digital download is just obscene.
charge $40.00 I am sure I would buy one of the two how many other people would?
JohnP
March 10, 2012 at 3:00pm
Steam had Skyrim down to less than $40 during the holidays. Keep an eye on their site...
Scatter
March 09, 2012 at 10:38am
My guess would be that people were still playing the games that they purchased the months before and that nothing all that exciting came out in Feb.
Also, do these numbers include direct download sales?
unsunghero225
March 09, 2012 at 9:18am
Id guess its really due to:
1. Overpricing
2. Lack of good original ideas/titles (only the Kingdoms game is a first)
3. Lack of a Big title (most sequels on this list have been out a while)but the "experts" are probably going to blame it on pirates... go figure
tekknyne
March 09, 2012 at 8:49am
"While NPD Group didn't say why sales fell so sharply--"
You mean that said magic marketing analysis firm didn't predict this one with their crystal ball? And all of their historical marketing data is worthless? No kidding!?
tony2tonez
March 09, 2012 at 7:38am
I was going to get Twisted Metal after playing the demo online and had fun with it. But then got lazy and decided not to.
Kingdoms of Amalur, was ok - felt like play WoW without being online. so i skipped it as well.
