After riding high from the thrill of 
E3 last week, the video game industry got a harsh slap in the face Monday.
As reported by the NPD Group, sales of video games in the month of May were down 19 percent compared to a year ago — the worst performance for the industry in nearly five years.
After a surprisingly strong April, 
the video-game industry crashed and burned in May.
Software sales, the most closely tracked number by investors, were off 19 percent according to the NPD Group, the industry’s worst monthly performance since October 2006.
After spending a week looking into the 
future, the video game industry must once more face the reality of the present.
May sales figures are expected to be announced after the market closes Monday – and they’re not likely to add any sort of boost to the goodwill that often accompanies the E3 trade show. Analysts expect sales, at best, to be flat compared to last year.
Sony’s network woes may have dominated 
headlines in April, but they didn’t do much to hurt overall sales in the video game industry.
Software sales, the most closely tracked data, climbed 26 percent to $503 million, according to The NPD Group, which tracks video game sales. (Analysts had expected a 15 percent increase.) This is the first month software sales have posted a year-over-year increase since November and only the third time they have done so in the past year.
For the second year in a row, retail sales 
were down in the video game industry — the first time it has recorded negative growth in back to back years.
The industry, as a whole, was down 6 percent compared to the 2009 figures, with sales of $18.58 billion. Software sales, which investors consider the best barometer of the industry’s health, were down 6 percent as well to $9.36 billion. (Adding in PC sales, the amount climbed to $10.1 billion, a 5 percent drop from last year.)
2010 was another ugly year for video game 
retailers. Overall sales of video games were down 6 percent compared to the 2009 numbers – coming in at $18.58 billion. But there was some room for optimism.
Adding in other income streams, including digital downloads, used game sales, game rentals, subscriptions, social network games and mobile game apps, the NPD Group, which tallies the numbers, estimates preliminary software sales in 2010 were between $15.4 to $15.6 billion – which represented relatively flat growth compared to 2009 (though perhaps down by 1 percent).
September’s retail sales numbers for the video 
game industry might have stunk up the joint something terrible, but there’s one bright spot to be found.
The NPD Group, for the first time, has released a new spending report that incorporates not only retail sales, but used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full game downloads, social network games, downloadable content, and mobile game apps.
No one had real high expectations for last month’s 
video game sales. And that’s probably a good thing, since it turned out to be the worst August in three years.
Software sales fell 14 percent last month to $403.5 million, according to The NPD Group – more than twice as much as some Wall St. analysts were expecting. Hardware sales, meanwhile, were 5 percent below 2009’s level, at $282.9 million – and the Wii had its worst sales month since the system’s launch.
Chris Morris: Journalist 