Key software markets fall 6% overall in Q3

The videogame software market across the three main markets globally - the US, the UK and Japan - together posted a 6 per cent decline in sales for the three months to the end of September this year.

That's according to the latest data from the NPD, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain alliance, which measures software and hardware sales in each of the three markets.

The UK saw the greatest fall in sales, down 19 per cent year-on-year, while the US fell by 9 per cent.

In contrast, Japan posted a 15 per cent rise in the three months to the end of September this year, contrasting sharply a fall of 20 per cent in the same period last year.

In terms of sectors, the handheld software market in the UK plummeted 34 per cent while console software dropped 12 per cent, while in the US the numbers were 8 per cent and 4 per cent falls respectively.

For the year-to-date all three markets are down compared to the same period last year, with the UK at 13 per cent, Japan at 9 per cent and the US at 8 per cent.