Console sales down in US

Video game market expert NPD Funworld released its official first-quarter report on Monday, showing a decline in the US market for the console and portable gaming industries but solid growth in all other areas. The US console and portable gaming industries totaled a combined $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2004, down 1 percent compared to the same period in 2003, when the combined sales reached $1.9 billion. Worldwide sales of console games rose a total of 5 percent over the same period, despite a small decrease in the US market.

Sales of portable games were down approximately 6 percent in the US, reaching $157 million--$10 million short of the first-quarter total for 2003. Portable hardware and accessories both saw increases of 8 percent, but the gain was not quite enough to balance the drop in software sales.

Console hardware sales dropped a full 25 percent, to just over $336 million. The decrease was attributed to the advancing age of the current generation of console systems. "Most of the consumers in this industry have had their video game hardware for some time now, so a slight decrease in sales is to be expected," said Richard Ow, senior video game analyst for The NPD Group.

Sales of console games and accessories continued to be strong despite the decrease in hardware sales, showing increases of 7 and 10 percent respectively. "What will keep consumers coming back for more is the continued development of top-notch software titles, as well as accessories designed to enhance gameplay," added Ow. "This, combined with advancements in the industry such as online gameplay, will help drive sales well into the future."

Along with its report, NPD Funworld released a list of the 10 most popular games of the first quarter, as determined by total units sold in the US. Electronic Arts dominated the list with four PlayStation 2 titles, including the top two spots. NFL Street took home top honors, followed by Need for Speed: Underground. MVP Baseball 2004 placed sixth, while James Bond: Everything or Nothing was 10th.

Nintendo also made a strong showing with four GameCube titles reaching the top 10 as well. Nintendo's own Pokémon Colosseum, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, and Mario Kart: Double Dash placed fourth, seventh, and ninth respectively. Sega's Sonic Heroes was fifth.

Two Xbox titles rounded out the list: Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden placed third and Microsoft's Halo was eighth despite having been released a full two years earlier than any other game on the list.