markets-hub.com

Despite the winter weather giving way to sunshine, gamers still logged plenty of hours behind the wheel of Rockstar Games’ “Grand Theft Auto IV” in April. Unfortunately for Viacom, this led to many wannabe rockers letting the beat drop on the company’s “Rock Band” title.

The latest data from the NPD Group show that total U.S. retail videogame dollar sales were up 68% in April, highlighted by the “exceptional” introduction of GTA IV from Take-Two Interactive’s subsidiary, according to BMO Capital Markets analyst Edward Williams. “Robust” hardware sales also contributed to April’s performance, the analyst said, as improved availability and strong demand drove sales.  Sales of hand-held devices were a weak spot, he said, “as we believe consumer retail dollars were laser-focused on the launch of ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’.” 

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 sold 188,000 units during the month, as did Sony’s PS3 platform, while Nintendo’s Wii topped the charts of hardware sales as consumers grabbed 713,000 units from the shelves. Overall, total console hardware unit sales rose 47% in April compared with the prior year and Williams expects demand to remain strong through 2008 as additional titles, including “Wii Fit”, “NCAA Football 09″ and “Madden NFL 09″ keep gamers returning to retail.

Take-Two came out of April with the trophy, however, as GTA IV sold 2.8 million copies in the U.S. in just five days. BMO Capital believes it will continue to be a key driver for May as well. “Take-Two gained a mammoth amount of (market) share as Grand Theft Auto IV buried the competition,” Williams said. “Electronics Arts gained slightly, while Activision, THQ, Ubisoft, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and Midway lost share.”

Viacom’s “Rock Band” title failed to make much noise in April, according to Morgan Stanley, which said the game sold about 160,000 units for a total of $25 million in retail sales. Analyst Benjamin Swinburne said these amounts represent sequential declines of 46% and 47%, respectively from March, most likely because ‘Rock Band’ has been available for six months on the PS3 and Xbox, and five months on the PS2. However, Swinburne expects ‘Rock Band’ sales to increase throughout the rest of the second quarter as the game rolls out for the Nintendo Wii console and on all platforms internationally.

Wall Street is on track to open higher Friday, looking to advance for the third day straight and following on from gains in Europe, although any bad news in Friday’s housing report could dent investors’ confidence.

According to spread bettors IG index, the Dow Jones industrial average is expected to open around 26 points higher at 13,018. S&P 500 futures were 4.10 higher at 1,428.70, while Nasdaq 100 futures were up 4.50 to 2,040.25.

The stock market Thursday notched its second straight daily advance, with investors assuaged by a pullback in oil prices and some better-than-expected economic data. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 94.28 or 0.73%, to close at 12,992.66, the Nasdaq composite index gained 37.03, or 1.48%, to 2,533.73, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 14.91, or 1.06%, to 1,423.57. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.82% from 3.92% late Wednesday, and light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 10 cents to settle at $124.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

ECONOMIC DATA:

• Housing starts for April, 8:30 a.m. ET, 940,000 estimate
• Building permits for April, 8:30 a.m. ET, 915,000 estimate
• Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for May, 10 a.m. ET, 62.5 estimate

AFTER-HOURS ACTION:

After Thursday’s close of trading, department store operators Kohl’s Corp. and Nordstrom Inc. both said profit fell in the first quarter. Autodesk Inc. said profit jumped 14% in the fiscal first quarter, but the company cut its outlook for profit because of stock compensation costs. BMC Software Inc. said fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 55%, and Compuware Corp. reported fourth-quarter net earnings that topped the consensus Wall Street forecast.