Video game sales fall 25% before launches

6/19/2013

NEW YORK — U.S. retail sales of video games, hardware, and accessories declined 25 percent in May as demand for aging game consoles continued to fade and fewer new games were launched compared with last year, according to market researcher NPD Group.

NPD said total video game sales were $386.3 million, down from $517 million in May, 2012. The decline comes as Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. are getting set to launch new consoles.