U.S. retail videogame and console sales increased 4% in in December, rising to $5.32 billion as shoppers snapped up nearly 2.8 million copies each of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. But videogame sales disappointed as the industry registered growth in the year’s final month, according to research firm NPD Group.
Over the full year, though, sales were down as the full impact of tough economic times trickled down to the US consumer and prices dropped as a result. In total, NPD reports gaming sales of $19.66 billion for 2009, down eight per cent from record-setting 2008 figures, while the $10.5 billion spent specifically on gaming software as 11 per cent lower.
Sales of game consoles made up for the lackluster software sales. Revenue jumped 16% to nearly $2.2 billion in December on a surprising 76% increase in unit shipments of the Nintendo Co. motion-controlled Wii.
Among the consoles, the Nintendo Wii sold 3.81 million units, more than triple the 1.26 million sold in November. The Sony Playstation 3 sold 1.36 million units, nearly twice the number sold in the previous month. Microsoft Xbox 360 units were 1.31 million, up from 819,500 in November. Even the aging PS2 had a good month, with 333,200 units, up from 203,100 one month earlier.
Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of MTV Games, said he was “pleased” with the holiday sales and the fact that more than 1 million players bought Beatles song downloads, though he acknowledged that some European markets performed below the company’s expectations.
For the year, the U.S. videogame industry generated revenue of $19.66 billion, down about 8% from a year ago. Only portable-game-player revenue increased, by about 6%, while console revenue sunk 13%.