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U.S. Game Sales Up 25% In June
Gamasutra is reporting that sales for the gaming industry were up 25% over last year in June. The results were significantly different than those expected by analysts, primarily driven by high demand for Nintendo's DS Lite handheld console and the videogames based on the Disney/Pixar film 'Cars'. From the article: "Figures from Nintendo claim that combined sales of both Nintendo DS hardware iterations amounted to just under 600,000 in June - a figure with which NPD's estimates of 593,000 agree. PSP sales for the month were put at 221,000, with no information yet available for the Game Boy Advance - which had previously beaten both new portable formats in the U.S."
Depends on who you're talking about by saying "the industry." Sony and Microsoft, not doing so hot. Nintendo (as usual actually) is rolling in it. And they're doing it by focusing on a cheaper machine with an emphasis on fun games (the DS). I say this bodes well for the Wii, not so well for the PS3, with its high price and focus on Blu-Ray movies (rather like the PSP and UMD).
From TFA: It's as if consumers woke up and decided to start gaming again
Anecdotes aren't always meaningful, but my personal experience concurs with the reported conclusion and what you're saying. The DS Lite is making all the difference here.
My game purchasing had never really recovered from the WoW induced slump, and when the DS Lite came out I bought it and... I think I'm up to 11 games now.
My brother did the same and also has 11 games, as did a good number of my friends - though they're mostly in the 3-4 games range at this point. The games that we all want the most are games with multiplayer and WiFi.
Mobile gaming has become social gaming... if people remember to carry their DSes!
The very next week, she comes over with a "present" for me - she had bought me Mario Kart and my own copy of Animal Crossing, so we could play multiplayer. Now, realize, the ONLY other time she's gone into the store and bought a video game was to buy a game for me for Christmas or my birthday. And, even then, she already had known the name of the game and the price, since I'd "hinted" quite heavily.
However, this time, she would have had to go IN the store, browse the games, and decide which ones to buy - and, of course, she picked up two more for herself. We each have about 5 games for the DS, now, and we RARELY buy games - and, if we do, we buy them used. The DS Lite is the sole reason that we spent any money on video games last June, and I'm betting that this is the case for quite a few other people as well.