MS Under Pressure as Game Sales Slide

Hardware shortages and underperforming games put coal into the industry's stocking.

Last autumn saw some of the biggest game releases of the last five years, so it's no real surprise that games sales have slipped in the US. Earlier reports from industry group NPD painted a hopeful picture, with sales down only around 4 per cent. Then NPD pulled the numbers, and the new ones tell a different story.

November game sales in the US were down nearly 20 per cent over the same time last year. A big part of the drop is people holding back on buying into the next generation - whether by choice or simply because Microsoft has not been able to meet demand for Xbox 360.

It's worth noting that at this time last year, gamers were tucking into the biggest games of this generation, including Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

But there's more bad news for Microsoft in the numbers too.

Not one of the company's three launch titles managed to make it into the Top 3 for the month. (The No. 1 spot went to Activision for Call of Duty 2.) This is particularly painful considering the $375 million Microsoft paid for Rare, the developer of Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power.

Americans snapped up 330,000 Xbox 360s between 22 November and the end of the month. The big question now is when Microsoft will have new consoles in stores. The company is keeping quiet on its shipping plans, but one analyst has predicted that Microsoft will have another 300,000 Xbox 360s in stores this week.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games