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Analysts Foresee Another Banner Year For Videogame Industry

Posted by Zonk on from the banner-that-says-money-money-money dept.

Analysts observing the videogame industry forsee 2008 being another blockbuster year in sales. Sales during the month of February were considerably up, according to the NPD group. Early in the year is historically a very slow time in the game sales calendar, making the 34% jump for the month highly significant. Grand Theft Auto IV is likely to be an engine for sales throughout the year: "The game, which will be available on the Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, is expected to boost sales of both consoles. Pre-orders have been better than expected, according to its publisher, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan, expects the game to sell about 9 million units during the company's fiscal year, which ends in October. Roughly 6 million of this, he added, will be to Xbox 360 owners."

5 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. I hate to nitpick... by Viceroy+Potatohead · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ..but: "forsee"? Shouldn't the title be "foresee"? Apologies for spelling Nazism, usually, I don't care about that sort of thing, but it's the title, for God's sake, put in a little effort...

  2. I'll buy that... by 7Prime · · Score: 4, Insightful

    However, GTA4 won't do it alone. I'm not sure why the article hinges on GTA4s success. GTA is a huge franchise, I'm not going to argue that, but no GTA game has outsold the Halo or Smash Bros franchises (which produced the #1 and #2 best selling games of last generation). Halo 3 saw release last year to enormous success, and so far Smash has been exceeding sales expectations this year. Combine Smash Brawl with GTA4, Mario Kart Wii, MGS4, and the remote possibility of a 2008 Final Fantasy US release (unlikely, but possible), and you have a good solid framework for 2008 sales. 2007 saw many huge things though, so I'm not sure it's as cut and dry as the article suggests, but there's a good possibility. And I'm not even going to dig into the huge Nintendo DS sales that simply defy all conventional explanation.

    --
    Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
  3. Could be by 7Prime · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Could be... or it could mean the 360 is just hacking into Sony's former mindshare. I think it's probably a combination of both, actually. The continued success of the Wii is probably the #1 indication that HDTV adoption (or should I say, SDTV abandonment) isn't going as planned.

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    Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
  4. Economic Conditions by NuclearError · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's interesting how high sales are despite a stalled economy. Maybe it's cheaper to sit at home and play video games instead of going out, given the price of gas.

    --
    Nuclear engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets.
  5. Re:Buried lead: PS2 outselling PS3, still. by Cornflake917 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    As a current XBox 360 owner....

    the heat issue Not issue for me. I can play all day and not have problems.

    the failure rate issue It's not a problem for potential buyers anymore, the new version's failure rate is significantly decreased. If the off chance it does fail, that's what warranties are for.

    the lower color resolution issue Same game comparisons show very similar picture quality between XBox 360 and PS3.

    the lower processing power issue Same game comparisons show very similar picture quality between XBox 360 and PS3. By the way, having less processing power (than what? a PS3?) is an issue? Give me a break. I hope you don't have Wii.

    the bungee defection issue Even if bungee didn't defect, we wouldn't be seeing another Halo for at least 3 years anyways. Not really a problem for this year.

    the older technology issue Stupid argument, not completely true, same game comparisons show very similar picture quality between XBox 360 and PS3.

    the lack of hd player issue First people say 360 sales are hurting because lack of HD adoption. Now they're sales are hurting because not enough HD support? Which is it?

    division attrition issue, the continuing losses issue MS was expecting to start with losses. They said they expect to turn a profit this year. So these aren't issues yet.

    the morale issue Wtf are you talking about?

    In summary, you are making up issues that the 360 doesn't have, and you are obviously a PS3 fanboy. I think the 360 is a great console, and I think the PS3 and Wii are great consoles as well. I don't see what the point of the obvious attempt at trash talking the 360 (or any console). I want all three companies to be in stiff competition so they can keep churning out some great games.

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    Abaddon: An Xbox 360 Indie game