Interactive Entertainment Software Sales
Soar in First Quarter, Says NPD Report
First Quarter Video Game Software and
PC Entertainment Software Sales Up
More than 50%
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., May 5 /PRNewswire/-- Building on
the momentum gained in last year's fourth quarter, sales of interactive entertainment
software posted another substantial increase, up 58% in the first quarter of 1997
compared to the first quarter of 1996. According to NPD's Interactive Entertainment
Software Service, 13.3 million units of video game software and 10.4 million units of
computer entertainment software were sold during the first three months of this year.
NPD monitors the interactive entertainment software industry with information
provided by a nationally representative sample of retailers across the U.S.
Leading the sales surge was Nintendo 64, for which software sales continued to
skyrocket. Although only 14 titles were available for the system through March,
Nintendo 64 software occupied seven of the top eight spots on NPD's Interactive
Entertainment Software best seller list for the first quarter. Nintendo's Mario Kart 64
and Super Mario 64 ranked one and two respectively, followed by Nintendo's Star
Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Acclaim's Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.
Keeping pace with the success of Nintendo 64, sales of PlayStation software were also
strong in the first quarter, up 170% versus the same period last year. Eight games for
the PlayStation were among the top 25 on NPD's Interactive Entertainment Software
best seller list for the first quarter 1997. Saturn software sales also improved, up 135%
over quarter one of 1996.
There is no reason to doubt that video games' first quarter success will continue
throughout the remainder of this year, says NPD's Ryan Brock. "With the recent price
drops for both Nintendo 64 and PlayStation hardware, and a healthy line-up of first rate
titles slated for release throughout the rest of the year, 1997 is shaping up to be a
monumental year."
Although computer entertainment software sales did not match the phenomenal growth
of next generation video game software sales, first quarter sales were up 38% over the
same period last year. And Brock believes that the solid first quarter gives PC
entertainment software manufacturers a reason to be optimistic. "The exceptional first
quarter growth shows that computer gaming is living up to the high expectations
resulting from strong 1996 sales," he explains. "With highly anticipated games such as
Broderbund's Riven (the sequel to MYST) scheduled to be released this summer, the
strong sales should continue throughout 1997."
About The NPD Group
The NPD Group is a privately held, international market research company
headquartered in Port Washington, NY. Founded in 1953, the firm specializes in
providing marketing information and associated computer software-based information
management systems. NPD is the eighth largest market research firm in the U.S. based
upon 1995 revenues, according to the American Marketing Association's Honomichl
50. NPD has offices and affiliations in 33 countries, covering North America, South
America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
SOURCE The NPD Group, Inc.
/CONTACT: Leslie Singer, 516-625-2302 or leslie_singer@npd.com; or Ryan Brock,
516-625-2828 or ryan_brock@npd.com, both of The NPD Group/ |
