Michael Pachter Previews Video Game Sales

In any industry, a report stating that sales could be down as much as 50 percent might send stocks in that industry falling off a cliff.

This was the case recently with Macau's report on casino stocks.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter provided a note on Monday detailing his prediction that video game console/handheld software sales could be down as much as 47 percent year-over-year, as well as 7 percent month-over-month.

The slate of video game releases in May 2014 was very strong, including "Wolfenstein: The New Order," "Mario Kart 8," "MLB 14: The Show," and the record-breaking "Watch Dogs." April titles such as "Mortal Kombat X" are expected to slow, while action RPG juggernaut "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" is limited in sales by its genre, according to Pachter.

Related Link: 'Fallout 4' Nuke-Sized Expectations: Will Sales Match The Hype?

Despite these sobering findings, Pachter provides solace in his investment update, citing positive publisher earnings calls as well as GameStop Corp. GME’s earnings results. These points reinforce Pachter’s belief that the video game software market is healthy in light of what may look like a disturbing upcoming sales report by NPD. However, watch the volatility of the players in the industry as the NPD U.S. retail video game software sales data report that is coming out Thursday afternoon.