Investing.com - Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) led a wave of red across video game stocks Friday on data showing gamers held back on spending in September as they await the next generation of consoles slated for next year.
Video game sales fell 8.5% to $1.28 billion year on year in September after hitting a 20-year low in August, according to NPD Group.
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) was off 1.5%. It had been down as much as 3%, falling below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) also fell nearly 3% from five-week highs before trimming losses. Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) was up slightly..
For the year so far, videogame spending is down 6% to $8.3 billion, led by a fall in hardware spend as gamers await the console refresh cycle next year.
The next-generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles are expected to launch in time for the 2020 holiday season.
With just a handful of big titles released last month, the fall in video game sales shouldn’t come as a surprise. Some analysts say the data can be overlooked, particularly with the usual strong slate of games set to be released in the crucial holiday-selling season.
But if demand continues to wane in the coming months, that could be cause for investor concern. For the moment, however, gaming stocks have played their way into a better position so far this year, with the EA and Take-Two boasting double-digit gains.