GAME MARKETS: VIDEO SALES DECLINE, PORTABLES GROW

RANDY WEDDINGTON

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. -- Many segments of the U.S. interactive game industry showed sales declines in 2000, according to a new report from marketing information provider The NPD Group here.

Video game sales (including hardware, software and accessories) were $6.5 billion in 2000 compared to $6.9 billion in 1999, a 5% drop.

Unit sales, however, rose 1% to 191.4 million from 188.6 million over the same period.

"Lower price points for [Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64] systems across all categories affected the overall dollar growth," said Richard Ow, NPD Interactive Entertainment account manager, in a company release.

While video game hardware sales dropped a precipitous 20% in dollars, software declined only 4%.

"The Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 systems are entering their fifth and sixth years, respectively, in the U.S. market," said Ow. "While both systems may have already reached their peak in hardware sales, their software continues to sell."

One video game segment -- the portable category -- showed strong growth, with software sales up 26% in dollars and 28% in units. And its accessories outperformed this, up 56% in dollars and 76% in units.

The group said the growth was "driven in part by the popularity of the Pokemon games," noting that "four out of the 10 top-selling video game titles for the year were Pokemon Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles."