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Story by Stephany Nunneley

Fri, Jul 10, 2009 | 21:37 BST

Analyst expects a 20% drop in game sales for June

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson expects says that he recession may be hitting games harder than financial gurus and chart trackers previously thought.

In his NPD preview note to investors, Wilson estimates software sales for June have dropped 20 percent year-over-year to $700 million.

“Our most recent checks have indicated that the relative health that we have seen may not have continued into June,” he wrote. “Our contacts indicate that sales in the important ‘school’s out’ period, especially in the last two weeks of June, were disappointing and represented a deviation in the early-year trend.

“While it is too early to call a long-term trend, we have taken a more conservative view of new and catalog products in our June NPD forecast. If the data back up our checks, it may be time to reassess the degree to which videogames really are ‘recession proof.’”

Wilson said that the expected slide can be attributed to the less-than-warm reception of big releases and “slipping consumer confidence”.

More through Gamespot.