NPD has released its industry report for December 2011, and industry sales came in at $3.99 billion, which is a 21% year-over-year decline.
“Overall industry results are not entirely surprising given that we are on the back end of the current console lifecycle, combined with the continued digital evolution of gaming, “noted NPD’s Anita Frazier. “Core gamers continue to be engaged and spend on established franchises across both the digital and physical format using multiple devices for different gaming occasions.”
December at a Glance
Hardware sales come in at $1.32 billion, a 28% yoy decline.
Xbox 360 moves 1.7 million units; total retail spend on 360 in December was $1.5 billion.
3DS and the DS the only platforms with a unit sales increase over November.
Software sales hit $2.04 billion, a 14% yoy decline.
Top 3 games for the month: Modern Warfare 3, Just Dance 3 and Skyrim, respectively.
Hardware sales plummet 28%
Hardware sales were down 28% yoy to $1.32 billion compared to 2010′s $1.84 billion, which is $520 million difference.
“Hardware was particularly hard hit in December,” noted Fraiser. “Normally, we see sales increase from November to December on an average sales per week basis (keeping in mind December is a 5-week retail month as compared to November which is a 4-week retail month).
“The 3DS and the DS were the only platforms to realize a unit sales increase versus November, which is highly unusual since typically all platforms enjoy a lift in ...
