Sales Of PC Games, Educational Software Fall

Declines in demand for entertainment and educational PC titles in the United States contributed to an overall drop of 4% for PC retail software in 2003, according to data from NPD. The number of units sold fell almost 10%, to 102 million -- the sharpest drop in four years. In particular, sales of educational software have been declining rapidly since 2000, falling by 26% last year. Conversely, shipments of PC hardware rose 12% in the fourth quarter 2003, with sales of tax calculating software and anti-virus software still buoyant. Source: USA Today.