Games console and software sales are plummeting faster than a free fall team of performing parachuting elephants who have forgotten to pack the key ingredient of their act.
Market researcher NPD Group said that Nintendo’s DS handheld players and Wii consoles led a 10 percent fall in US video-game hardware and software sales in August. Overall sales dropped to $818.9 million last month, with revenue from hardware falling five percent and game software dropping 14 percent.
NPD said that sales of the touch-screen DS slumped 38 percent to 342,700 players, while those of the Wii fell 12 percent to 244,300 consoles, the lowest since its debut in November 2006, according to the statement.
While it is possible that people are putting off buying new gear because the second generation of controller games are on the way, the sales falls have not effected Microsoft's Xbox and the Sony PS3 which are expected to feature the new controllers.
Nintendo, whose DS sales fell for five straight months in the US, will release a successor model with a 3D screen this fiscal year to boost demand.
Dark times ahead
Nick Farell
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