North American PC Application Software Sales Reach Record $5.75 Billion in
1992 

Windows Programs, Home Education, Entertainment and Personal Finance
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March 16,1993 (Washington, DC) - The Software Publishers Association (SPA)
announced today that North American personal computer application software
sales reached $1.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 1992, and a total of
$5.75 billion for the calendar year. Full year sales were up 14.1% from
$5.04 billion in 1991, while the fourth quarter sales figure was a 9.6%
increase from $1.56 billion in the fourth quarter of 1991. Units sales in
North America were up strongly, increasing 36% for the year and 40% for
the fourth quarter.

The sales figures are derived from the SPA's Worldwide Sales Reporting
Program, in which SPA member companies report their sales of personal
computer application software. Through an analysis, sales figures from
that program are converted to full North American market sales, at
street-level retail, as reported here.

International sales growth out-paced growth in the North American market.
Revenues from international sales of US software companies grew 25.1% for
the full year, while international sales in the fourth quarter were up
31.7%. Combined US and international sales were up 18.1% for the year and
17.3% for the fourth quarter. Worldwide unit sales growth was 37.5% for
the full year and 44.2% for the fourth quarter, 1992.

"The slowdown in revenue growth is clearly the result of the widely
reported price declines for personal computer software," said David
Tremblay, Research Director of the SPA. "Unit sales for the year in North
America were up 36%, but declines in unit pricing, faster growth in
lower-priced segments, and increased up-grade sales kept overall revenue
growth to about 14%, still a healthy increase."

DOS Declines, Windows and Macintosh Applications Grow 

Sales of DOS applications continued to decline in the fourth quarter,
dropping 15.4% from $859 to $726 million. For the full year, DOS
application sales declined 12.8% from $2.96 to $2.58 billion. In spite of
the declines, DOS remains the largest category, accounting for 45% of
North American market application revenues.

Windows application sales were $1.93 billion for the year, up 95.6% from
$989 million in 1991. For the fourth quarter, Windows application sales
were $639 million, up 64.6% from $388 million in the fourth quarter of
1991.

Sales of Macintosh software were $990 million for 1992, a 20.2% increase
from $824 million in 1991. Fourth quarter Macintosh application software
sales were $277 million, up 16.3% from $238 million in the fourth quarter
of 1991.

Word processors and spreadsheets remain the numbers one and two application
categories in 1992, but price declines in these categories limited their
revenue growth. Word processor revenues grew 2% while spreadsheet revenues
grew 8%.

Home Software Soars 

While several of the large business-oriented categories experienced modest
growth in 1992, consumer-oriented categories did exceptionally well. Sales
of home education products were up 47% for the year, while sales of
entertainment products were up 29%. Sales in the finance category, largely
personal finance and tax products, were up 34%.

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its more than 1000 members represent the leading
publishers in the business, consumer, and education markets. The SPA has
offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France.

Software publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756

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