Titanfall can’t save Christmas as holiday game sales sputter

A sign advertising discounts for video game trade ins is displayed at a GameStop Corp. store in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. GameStop Corp. is scheduled to release earnings figures on November 22. Photographer: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg

Videogame sales in the US slumped in December as new titles like Titanfall 2 failed to live up to the previous year’s blockbusters, and the industry navigated a rocky shift from retail sales to digitally downloaded games. 

All major US game publishers saw sales declines in the holiday period, led by a 30% drop for industry leader Activision Blizzard Inc, Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson analyst said in a note reporting data from market-research firm NPD.