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April NPD: Prototype 2 tops charts, industry-wide sales down 32 percent year-over-year

Jordan Mallory
Contributing Editor
Updated ·2 min read
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The results for April are in, and things are looking a little rough out there in consumer video-game electronics land. As a whole, the gaming industry (which for our purposes includes all hardware, software and accessories sales between April 1 and April 28, 2012) brought in $630.4 million, a 32 percent decrease over the same period last year, where its various machinations resulted in collective sales of $930.9 million.

Breaking the industry down into its three major components, hardware sales accounted for $189.7 million (down 32 percent year over year), while software sales contributed $292.1 million to the cause – a 42 percent decrease year over year. Accessories, on the other hand, posted a 1 percent increase year-over-year at $148.6 million in 2012, as compared with $147.8 million in 2011.

The average amount of money spent on hardware increased year-over-year, however, due in part to the 360 Star Wars Kinect Bundle, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier. Generally though, the period's lackluster performance is due to the month's release schedule: "Last April, the top seven titles outsold the top-selling title this year, and, simply stated, there were notably fewer new market introductions. I think it's a simple as that because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever – we just saw a lot less this April as compared to last."

The list of April's top 10 best-selling titles can be found after the break as per usual, with newcomers Prototype 2 and Kinect Star Wars leading the charge ahead of Modern Warfare 3, Mario Party 9 and Mass Effect 3.

Update: According to Microsoft's Major Nelson, the Xbox 360 sold 236K units during April.



  1. Prototype 2 (360, PS3)

  2. Kinect Star Wars (360)

  3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfar 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)

  4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (360, PS3)

  5. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PC, PS2)

  6. The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (360, PC)

  7. Mario Party 9 (Wii)

  8. Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)

  9. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)

  10. MLB 12: The Show (PS3, PSV)