The NPD Group has released its August retail sales numbers showing a year over year decline of 20%. According to the stat tracking company, the current generation of consoles is beginning to show its age and could use a jolt in the arm from the Wii U and whatever Microsoft and Sony plan to show for the future. Anita Frazier of the NPD Group explained the drop-off.
“The current generation hardware systems are showing their age, so it goes without saying that it would be great to have new systems breathe life into traditional retail industry sales. I am anxious to learn more about the Wii U launch later this month. And with any luck we will hear news about other systems on the horizon.”
“One factor contributing to the softness we have seen in retail content sales so far in 2012 has been the decline in the sheer number of new titles. This, however, was not the case in August because there were more new titles when compared to last year. So, what we’re seeing impact August results is the domino effect of the light release schedule from earlier in the year.”
On the software front, THQ’s Darksiders II ranked number one as the best selling game of the month, and deservedly so. Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros 2 arrived on the 3DS and followed closely behind in second place. Other new releases that did well were Sleeping Dogs, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
