NPD delays May US sales results
Monthly charts may be up to three weeks late as NPD update IT infrastructure
Market research firm The NPD Group has warned that its regular monthly report on US industry sales will be delayed this month and May results will not be revealed next week.
Traditionally results of the previous month are released on the second Thursday of the following month, but the firm has warned that "a significant upgrade" to its IT architecture will result in a one-off delay.
According to a report by website Gamasutra the delays could total up to three weeks. The benefits of the IT overhaul have not been specified.
Although May is not traditionally a busy month for videogame sales or new releases the new results will be keenly anticipated given the unexpectedly sharp decline in April sales.
US year-on-year revenues dropped by 26 per cent in April, one of the largest falls ever recorded. Although the results were adversely affected by an earlier Easter than 2009 overall yearly revenues are still down by 11 per cent so far in the US.
The release of a number of higher profile titles in May, including Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption and THQ's UFC Undisputed 2010 are hoped to have had a positive effect on the eventual results.