Microsoft Only Standout in Lagging Video Game Sales

Last month, as the video game industry saw a sales slump in which total purchases of hardware and software products dipped by 10%, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) products, notably its XBOX 360 console, was one of the few bright spots in a lagging sector. Sales of the 360 gaming console increased to a total 501,000 in the month, up nearly 10% from last year’s number of 451,000. Microsoft’s largest competitor in gaming consoles Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) refused to release sales numbers for its Playstation 3 device.

Video game industry data tracker NDP Group reported that industry-wide, “Total content sales including home consoles, portable consoles and PC game sales totaled $1.03 billion last month, down 10% from last June. Hardware sales declined 9% from $401.7 million in June 2010 to $366.6 million last month, and software sales dropped 12% over the same period to $469.5 million. Video game accessory sales also declined from June of last year, dropping 11% from $177.7 million in 2010 to $158.9 million last month.”

On the software front, game developer Take Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) was among the industry’s most prominent breadwinners for the month, publishing the top two selling games “L.A. Noire,” and “Duke Nukem Forever,” in June. Activision-Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) also reported strong software sales with veteran title “Call of Duty: Black Ops” retaining a long-held spot in the top ten sales chart.