$498 mln of educational software sold in 2000, $152 mln in 2004

In 2000, sales of educational software for home computers reached $498 mln. By 2004, sales of educational software had plummeted to $152 mln, according to the data from NPD Group quoted in The New York Times. Only 222 educational programs for PC's sold more than 10,000 copies in 2004, down from 447 in 2001. In 2004 the average price for an educational program was $18, compared with $23 for the average computer game. Overall spending on software by K-12 schools was $2.3 bln in 2004, up 2% from a year earlier but down from $3.4 bln in 2001, according to ThinkEquity Partners.