February NPD: Strong Vita Launch Can't Halt Sales Slide

[weber_dubois22]

It'll take more than a new portable to bring sales back up. The NPD Group has revealed the industry numbers for February, and sales were down across the board. Overall US retail sales for the month came in at $1.06 billion, which is down 20% year-over-year. Software fell even further, down 24% to $485.7 million, and even hardware - despite the availability of two new systems in the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita - were down 18% to $381.4 million. The only silver lining is that hardware was up in comparison to the previous month. As for the Vita, Uncharted: Golden Abyss did manage to crack the top 20 on the software charts, and $10 million worth of Vita accessories were sold, too.

At the top of the software list, once again, was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, but it was also noted that another of Activision's big titles, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, "easily claimed the top spot for content-related sales." As other hot sellers, Final Fantasy XIII-2 nailed down the #2 spot, and that was followed by UFC Undisputed 3, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and Just Dance 3.

Unsurprisingly, Sony wanted to talk about the success of the Vita. Said SCEA Sr. Director of Corporate Communications Patrick Seybold:

"After months of anticipation, the U.S. launch of PlayStation Vita saw overwhelming enthusiasm amongst gamers, resulting in exceptional hardware, software and peripheral sales. As reported last week, more than 1.2M PS Vita units have been sold globally since launch. Customer satisfaction rates are very high and momentum will continue as gamers get their hands on a deep lineup of blockbuster titles that take advantage of PS Vita’s unique features, including cross-platform play with the PlayStation 3."

Just keep the Vita software coming, Sony. Things should turn out just fine for the handheld if you do.

SOURCE