March NPD video game sales were down 17% year-over-year, and down 8% for the full March quarter, despite a strong lineup of titles, Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson tells investors in a research note. Top titles for all of Q1 included Kingdom Hearts III from Square Enix and Nintendo titles Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, adds the analyst. Despite the industry decline, Olson believes the data is most positive for Activision Blizzard (ATVI), with incremental title Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The data is less positive for Electronic Arts (EA) and Take-Two, says Olson. However, he points out that the EA data does not include free to play title Apex Legends and Take-Two data does not include GTA Online. The analyst maintains Overweight ratings on Activision, EA and Take-Two.

"Game On" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks. NEW RELEASES: This... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here