14 DAY TRIAL // An analysis firm suggests that upcoming sales figures for the United States video game market from the NPD Group will show a decline of 25 percent when it comes to both hardware and software, compared to the month of April in 2011.
A report from the analysis firm Piper Jaffray, from Michael Olson and Andrew Connor, states, “Gamers are exiting the market for alternative forms of entertainment and leisure activities. Consumers are increasingly demanding interactive media experiences that are social, mobile and free to play.”
It adds, “These activities include photo/video sharing and social gaming, all of which are activities that the current consoles and new handhelds do not support effectively.”
The report estimates that Mass Effect 3, the action and role-playing hybrid from developer BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts, has been the best-selling title for April, with the open world Prototype 2 from Activision and Xenoblade Chronicles from Nintendo coming second and third in the chart.
The analysts believe that Electronic Arts will be especially hurt by April and even May results, because it has no big titles set to launch and must rely on the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic for good news. At the same time Activision will also suffer because Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has seen less sales during April than Black Ops did in 2011.
When it comes to May, Piper Jaffray believes that the biggest launch for the month will be Max Payne 3, from Rockstar and Take Two, which will perform better than Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Dragon’s Dogma and Sniper Elite V2.
The video game industry has so far disappointed during 2012, posting lower than expected sales and failing to deliver hits during the March period, which was traditionally seen as a “second Christmas,” with bumps in both hardware and software sales.
Analysts expect the situation to improve during May and June.