Declining sales in video games industry
Videogame sales were weaker than expected in August, suggesting that the slowing U.S. economy may have finally caught up with the sector. Late Thursday, the NPD Group reported that sales of videogame software for the U.S. rose 13% from the same period last year. On average, analysts covering the sector had been expecting a gain of 20% to 25%. It was the lowest year-over-year sales gain since January, according to NPD data. Sales of game software totaled just over $550 million for the month, according to NPD data. That was down from the $591 million reported for July. As expected, the biggest title for the month was EA’s “Madden NFL 09,” which typically releases in August ahead of the football season. Across the four major platforms, “Madden” sold more than 2.18 million units for the month.
Nintendo also has some strong sellers, with “Wii Fit,” “Mario Kart” and “Wii Play” ranking under “Madden” as the top-selling titles for the month. Sales of game consoles were another disappointment. With one exception, every major console saw its unit sales slip from July. Only the hand-held PSP from Sony Corp. notched a gain, moving from 221,700 units to 253,000 units following a redesign of the console. Nintendo sold 453,000 Wii units for the month, down 18% from July. The Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp. slipped nearly 5% to 195,200 units while Sony’s PlayStation 3 fell nearly 18% to 185,400 units.
Source: WSJ
Comments(41)
They don’t mention Pirating as a reason for the declining sales
You cant expect game sales to be great if no decent games are released :/
is there a reason why every time i click next page on the main page it brings up the same page every time? another hack?
People will be buying for Christmas soon so it’ll shoot back up.
@2
That’s true. Plus there are some MAJOR titles hitting the market for PS3 and Xbox 360 in the next few months. People could be saving their money for titles like Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Fallout 3 and Saints Row 2.
Just wait, the next 3 month will be insane in the gaming industry!
No decent games ??
SPORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
normal seasonal dip in sales-no big deal. maybe games developers should think about producing truly original games instead of another fps/driving/platformer etc.
Im surprised to see an increase of psp sales though-thought that was pretty much dead.
there is no games ?
@5
And you didn’t mention some of the games for the PC like GTA IV, Crysis Warhead, COD World at War, Red Alert 3, and I’m sure I’m missing some more.
The summer is notoriously bad for video game sales. Expect a drop in August because the only constant is EA. Factor in the mediocre at best updates to their annual sports titles, and you come across a group of games nobody wants. The average gamer doesn’t want to upgrade their Madden every year. I’ve always wondered, though I can sort of see the logic, why game developers wait so long in the season to release games. Late October, November, and the first half of December see the largest release in game titles. The titles flood the market so much that they actually hinder sales. Sales are high, but could be so much higher with a nice late June release. Kids have more time to play games in the summer. Nintendo’s console sales were down, but that is more a supply problem than a lack of interest. Wiis are still sold out everywhere you go. It is much easier to get one now, but most of the week they are sold out. PS3 saw a boost with MGS4 but other than that, the console still only has a handful of good games, and even fewer exclusives, making it an almost worthless investment. 360 is starting to become tired. FPS is the system’s claim to fame, and the decent shooters are sparse. And as for orph’s comment, Spore, no s at the end, and it is a last resort at best. The creature creator has its fun aspects and charm, but the game is hollow, shallow, and simple. It’s sad that the game I anticipate the most this month is Lego Batman.
@9
Yeah you’re right. I’m an Xbox 360 gamer and I only have a crummy laptop so I’m not up with all the PC games. I don’t know how I forgot Red Alert 3, I can’t wait for that one! The RTS controls on the 360 aren’t even bad, although everyone but me thinks they are horrible.
And trust me, if you’ve been waiting it out for GTAIV, you might have a giant shock, it’s not as good as the reviews say. It get very boring VERY quick. I’ve gotten 100% in all other GTA’s but I can’t be bothered getting the 200 Pigeons in this one, it’s just so tedious…
No decent games for months + the effect of the credit crunch = a fall in sales. Look at October/November there is Fifa09, PES2009, Far Cry 2, Resistance 2, Gears of War 2 etc all due to be released and watch record breaking sales happen.
Uh… sales are not declining. They’re up 13%. They just didn’t grow by as much as industry expectations. This is a non-story.
1&2 are the main reason for the whole world turning to c.r.a.p.
Maybe companies will stop making Space Soldier 5, or Nos Racing 23 and make some original games.
Although I doubt it.
70% of games are sold on thanksgiving anyway.
@6
Spore is great, but lets face it, pc gaming is almost dead. Soon its just gonna be ports from xbox360 and other consoles to pc, and you can’t expect one none console title to push up the sales figures…
Declining?
“sales of videogame software for the U.S. ROSE 13% from the same period last year.”
WTF
maybe if there were games worth buying then people would buy em. this gen is just too disappointing gameplay-wise.
Sex sells
We need more sexy games
I would say make a Lora Croft game and I play it
Strange they don’t mention piracy as a cause for the declining numbers, one’d think it had a major impact on sales as seen with PC games since the 90s..:p
Companies will never admit to piracy as a contributing factor in the decline of sales. Piracy doesnt play a major role in the decline anyways. I wish I could see 550 million in my lifetime. I think companies set the bar too high for themselves and they write checks that the software can’t cash. Maybe if they sold the games for less perhaps. Maybe they should even do a netflix type deal but call it “GameFlix”. I think that would do really well.
I wanna see a Max Payne for the XBox 360. I think they should consider it since there is a movie due out .
# 22 they do its called game fly.
F-UCK consoles!
The game makers should take sales decline data to their local congressman, make a BIG stink about piracy, make a hefty contribution and suggest another round of tougher anti-piracy laws and ISP responsibility.
You can see how it’s worked with alcohol: once they started passing tough drinking and driving laws, DUI’s simply disappeared. Same with murder. Once it was made illegal, it stopped. See? Just pass laws
It’s magic!
@7
in my residence area PSP is sold out for weeks and retailors dont expect it any time soon either. reason is the low cost of modding a psp and the fact that the last few games were not bad either (kiddie and mature) and it is still a great mobile multimedia device.
NEW SCENE RELEASES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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you are all ghy
@28
kill yourself
http://cristgaming.com/pirate.swf
lol@gameflix
Yeah game fly is very popular
@22 you are totally right- they just say “decline” because they aren’t making what their projections say. They are just pissed because people are becoming hip to their sales models or selling crap games that need 10 patches and yes….instead of them making 190 mil this Quarter, they made 189 mil. Whaaaaaaaa….crying capitalists they are. And its definitely true pirating has no effect- we would’ve seen a major backlash in the 90’s if that were true.
I remember DOOM’s 1.666 message … hehe
360s shot up right after the price slash anyways…
Stuff’s just too expensive (PS3), as are the games.
First of all-the piracy is contribute to the overall growth of the game making them more popular(free publicity).
) and meny others which it became a phenomenon and had been cloned like hell,it seems that is the future…
Second of all the consoles are ,for me ,like a substitute milk compare to the real thing (PCs),so a way to make money from gamers, not to improve the game experience.
And at last for the ones who say that the PC gaming is down, take a look at MMORG like World Of Warcraft(I would like to see W.O.W. on the consoles
And I like to thank personally to Blizzard for producing PC exclusive content: Starcraft,Warcraft,Diablo.
Ok not to make anyone mad but I was really looking forward to SPORE till i found out EA made a pack with the devil and put securom software on all the discs and also only allows you to install it 3 times before you have to call them to active it. So lets review, Im renting the game from them not owning it and they put a backdoor spyware program packaged with it. So EA GETS NO SPORE MONEY FROM ME. I was so looking forward to building little pond scums and making them kill other worlds online.
.. there’s been a distinct trend downwards in game sales for a long time. Piracy is probably the biggest factor in the loss of sales, but there’s also the fact that new releases cost a fortune to develop, and also take years before they are completed. So instead of a developer releasing 10 games a year, they may only do 2.
Adding to this,if the protection on those few games is succesfully bypassed then the potential revenue loss will be substantially more than if it was spread over a number of titles.
So please think a little more about buying those games that give you hours of enjoyment, especially the big ones that will be released over christmas.
I’ve put aside money for FarCry2 already
martin you are always putting up these posts. why are you so obsessed with video game sales?
Hey i am waiting for someone to hack the PS3, then i will buy it and download the games, that’s it. On Yar Face, Industry. And i you think PC games are dead, just wait until Wow’s second expansion to come out later this year and you will see who tops the list.
Nintendo Hmmm dropped because they can’t keep up with demand. How they going to sell? If stores don’t have the console.
Someone please tell the CEO of Nintendo….
Well they should lower the price of the games, 50 and 60 bucks for one game really sucks.