During a somewhat quiet month for videogame releases, the NPD Group has announced videogame software and hardware sales figures in the US for the month of April, revealing an incredible 26 percent drop in overall revenues for the region compared to the same period last year.

Good news for Ubisoft was hidden in the bleak April report, as the publisher’s Splinter Cell: Conviction topped the software sales chart for the month, ahead of evergreen Nintendo titles and the blockbuster God of War III.

A bleak month

Sales fell from $1.03 billion in April 2009 to $766.2 million in April this year, which NPD’s Anita Frazier notes is the fourth largest year-over-year percentage decline ever, following slides in September 2000, June 2009 and July 2009.

The US videogame market is down 11 percent year-to-date, too, standing at $4.73 billion as of the end of April this year, compared to $5.29 billion at the end of April 2009.

Frazier also points out that the timeframe of Easter 2010 affected revenue:

“In April ‘09, consumers attributed $55 million of industry sales to Easter as a purchase occasion, which would account for about 21 percent of the decline from last year since Easter purchasing happened in March this year.”

Sales of portable hardware also declined in April 2010, and contributed a great deal to the overall drop in revenues, according to Frazier:

“… declines in portable sales compared to April ‘09 accounted for 61 percent of the total industry decrease,” in spite of the fact that portables contributed 25 percent to overall sales for the month.

Software Sales

Software revenue in the US for April 2010 fell by 22 percent, down to $398.5 million from $512 million during the same period last year. Year-to-date, 2010 still has some catching up to do as software has only generated $2.52 billion in sales compared to $2.73 billion from January to April in 2009 – an 8 percent decline.

The Xbox 360 exclusive Splinter Cell: Conviction was the top seller for the month of April in the US, with 486 100 units sold, followed by Pokemon SoulSilver with 242 900 units and New Super Mario Bros. Wii at 200 300 units sold.

Interestingly, Frazier said that casual games “comprised only 24 percent of software dollar sales in April 2010 as compared to 36 percent last April, an indication that more core content shored up better than did some of the more casual or non-traditional content.”

Hardware Sales

Hardware sales for April 2010 in the US were halved in comparison to March 2010, and as a result of generally higher prices for consoles last year, revenue was down significantly, sitting at $249.3 million this year, which represents a 37 percent drop compared to April 2009. Unit sales for the PS3 and Xbox 360 were up, however, from April last year:

“The PS3 and the Xbox 360 both enjoyed a unit sales increase over last April while all other systems declined,” notes Frazier, while the PS3 accounted for “84 percent of the total unit sales increase.”

Sony notes that the PS3 was the only console with sales growth both year-over-year (at 42.6 percent) and year-to-date (at 37.2 percent).

Accessory sales were also down by 9 percent, to $118.4 million from $129 million during the same period last year.

The Nintendo DS remained the best selling console in the US, however, despite dropping 71 percent in sales year-over-year, with 440 800 units sold for the month.

In raw numbers, the US videogame market looks like this:

Top Ten Software Sales for April 2010

• 1.) Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction (Ubisoft, 360) - 486 100
• 2.) Pokemon SoulSilver (Nintendo, NDS) - 242 900
• 3.) New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 200 300
• 4.) Pokemon HeartGold (Nintendo, NDS) - 192 600
• 5.) God of War III (SCEA, PS3) - 180 300
• 6.) Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo, Wii)
• 7.) Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Electronic Arts, 360) - Microsoft notes that the title sold 166 000 units
• 8.) Wii Fit Plus w/ Balance Board (Nintendo, Wii)
• 9.) Just Dance (Ubisoft, Wii)
• 10.) Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom, PS3) – 143 000

(Note: NPD will from now on only release sales figures for the top five games in the monthly sales chart.)

Hardware Sales for April 2010

• 1.) Nintendo DS – 440 800
• 2.) Wii – 277 200
• 3.) Xbox 360 - 185 400
• 4.) PlayStation - 3 180 800
• 5.) PSP – 65 500

(Note: NPD will from now on now longer report monthly sales of the PS2.)

US Videogame Industry Totals for April 2010

Below is a list of the category, followed by the total and the change in brackets.

• Videogames - $766.2 million (- 26%)
• Videogames hardware - $249.3 million (-37%)
• Videogames software - $398.5 million (-22%)
• Videogame accessories - $118.4 million (-9%)

You can find March 2010’s NPD results over here.

Source: NPD