In case you've missed the article on the front page of many websites, gaming didn't sell very well in April 2010. In fact, it apparently "tumbled 26 percent" from last year's April sales, leaving game analysts to call it a fluke. Onlookers have noted a few major sources of the problem. The first that must be noted is that, in reality, of the platform-sellers, only Nintendo has "tumbled"; comparing year-to-year statistics, both Sony and Microsoft increased in their profit margins for the month of April. However, Nintendo is carrying such a large portion of the market share that this can be overlooked slightly.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1323823420100513

The second reason many people have given for weak sales in April is the lack of titles for purchase. Certainly, there have been far more triple-A titles per month in the first quarter of the year; in a quarter where the "slow" month contains BioShock 2, the underwhelming-yet-hyped Dante's Inferno, and Heavy Rain, it may seem to be a "slow" month where the only major title is Splinter Cell: Conviction, especially considering the fact that Splinter Cell is exclusive to the Xbox 360. But last year, in April 2009, the largest-scale release was probably Guitar Hero: Metallica, with NO triple-A titles standing out. In fact, the most apparently well-received new title of the month was Rhythm Heaven, a game when, compared to Splinter Cell, received no hype and was a sleeper hit. This reason, therefore, seems invalid because comparing the two years reveals neither had strong releases in that month.

You know you bought this, clearly. :roll:

A third, more potent reason, however, is the reasoning of consumer fatigue. After a marathon of triple-A releases in Q1, gamers are settling down to finally play all their new games. They've picked up Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII, God of War III, Bayonetta, DarkSiders, and many other titles, and they don't have a desire to go buy even more games. This reason, while hard to measure without taking a large-scale survey, is sensible. This is the first year in the current generation that we've seen a massive Q1 release schedule, and so after a super-powered Q1 and the (as usual) strong Q4, consumers are likely to not really WANT to go buy more video games and just play the ones they have. This consumer fatigue is liable to last through the summer, as outdoor activities are appealing in this warmer season, game releases usually run dry in the summer, and everyone who wants to play video games probably already has a wealth of them that they haven't finished thanks to the two-quarter gauntlet.

You done with us yet? Yeah, we thought not.

Don't be surprised if May is low as well. Only a few major titles this May (with Super Mario Galaxy 2, Red Dead Redemption, and perhaps ModNation Racers being the only titles to live up to their original hype; Alan Wake turned out slightly underwhelming for all the press it got, and Lost Planet 2 unfortunately was a stinker) and a lot of bad gaming press (the negative reactions to the Activision-Bungie agreement, EA's horrid one-time-activation online announcement, and, of course, this) will lead to a lack of consumer confidence and, frankly, desire to play. All three successful major titles will be released in the last week of the month, and the Halo Reach Beta is probably the most popular new title of the month, and it's completely free for anyone who's playing it.

A bunch of you were probably playing this all month.

Yeah, all that definitely doesn't sound like an encouraging sales report for May.We'll have some decent games to look back on (Mario, Red Dead, ModNation, 3D Dot Heroes and Alan Wake come to mind), but the industry probably won't see any sales for those titles until at least next month (if ever for 3D Dot or Alan Wake.)

Something tells me this will slip under the radar.

June likely will be a bit better because it'll be the month most people actually get their hands on Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and ModNation Racers, and it'll also feature Green Day: Rock Band (possibly one of the last marketable music games) and Toy Story 3, a licensed game that will probably sell pretty well regardless of quality. There's also potential sales for Obsidian's new title, Alpha Protocol, as well as Naughty Bear, but like Alan Wake and 3D Dot Heroes, I see them slipping mostly under the radar until the holiday season.