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US Videogame Sales Have Biggest Drop In 9 Years

Posted by kdawson on from the if-RPGs-be-the-food-of-love-play-on dept.

alphadogg writes "The recession appears to have finally caught up with the video game market. Sales of video game hardware and software were down by around one-third in June compared to the same month last year. After initially showing positive growth as the US slid into recession, the latest figures mark the fourth month of declines and the largest year-on-year decline in almost 9 years. 'The first half of the year has been tough largely due to comparisons against a stellar first half performance last year, but still, this level of decline is certainly going to cause some pain and reflection in the industry,' said Anita Frazier, a games analyst with NPD Group. She added, 'The size of the decline could also point to consumers deferring limited discretionary spending until a big event (must-have new title, hardware price cut) compels them to spend.' The entire video game market in the US was worth $1.2 billion in June, down 31 percent from the same period last year, according to NPD Group."

12 of 310 comments (clear)

  1. No good games by masmullin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    June was a dry month for video gaming. Not many good games were released (except for Infamous).

    1. Re:No good games by thedonger · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah, after reading the summary I though, If the video game industry needs sales of crap in order to be profitable, maybe the lesson should be make better games.

      Also, they should look further than the current economic situation. It is getting too easy for people to site that as the cause for decline.

      --
      Help fight poverty: Punch a poor person.
    2. Re:No good games by Haffner · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Same-month sales in videogames is a useless statistic. If there's a new WoW expansion, new Call of Duty, new Valve shooter title, new SSB, new Halo, etc. titles released in one month, its obvious the next year same month will be down, probably 50-80%. They must account for the games released during that time. This past June had no significant releases, so it makes sense sales would be down. This is not (necessarily) evidence of a recession. More info is needed.

      --
      "Going to war without the French is like going deer hunting without your accordion." ~General Norman Schwarzkopf
    3. Re:No good games by SlashJoel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They must account for the games released during that time.

      Precisely. And what was released on June 12, 2008? Metal Gear Solid 4.

  2. yeah... by Em+Emalb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Money's tight. And honestly, I'm sick of seeing games priced at $59.99. I can wait until they hit ~$30 and buy them then. I'm long past the time when I HAD to have a game as soon as it releases.

    So yeah. Lower the price of the games at initial launch, you'll make more sales....IMNHAAO (in my not humble at all opinion)

    --
    Sent from your iPad.
    1. Re:yeah... by TaggartAleslayer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No kidding.

      I used to regularly grab the must-have new release the day it hit shelves. Once they started passing my self imposed $50 mental barrier, I stopped.

      I just can not physically bring myself to spend so much. I'd rather grab 4 used games from last year for the same total price.

      I mean really, at the end of the day, they are just pushing gamers to Half.com, eBay, Gamestop, Amazon, and other used game outlets.

      Where the publisher could potentially sell two copies at release for a slightly lower price ($39.99-$49.99 is a lot more attractive than $59.99+), they only sell one copy and then the re-seller retail stores take the profits from there for many years to come.

  3. Buying used games? by hansamurai · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't believe NPD keeps track of used game sales, and a lot of gamers will be turning to Gamestop, Ebay, and Amazon to pick up used games there instead of buying them new. I've personally been buying more used and even selling a bit of my collection as there seems to be a lot of buyers out there (and of course, more sellers).

    Games are too expensive to keep buying new. I let the suckers do that for me.

    --
    Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
    1. Re:Buying used games? by TaggartAleslayer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Irrelevent to the article, which is the the game industry revenue is down.

      It's actually extremely relevent. If the game companies are selling less total copies because gamers are turning to used game outlets due to the ridiculous price of new releases, they are going to see hits to their bottom line.

      Is that the only reason for the sales decline? No. Of course not. But it is definitely a contributing factor and one of prime concern for game makers.

  4. That's easy.... by HerculesMO · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Most of the games that are coming out, suck.

    Plain and simple. The problem with developers is that they are confusing great technology with great games. They can go hand in hand, but largely speaking -- games need story, innovation, depth. I played Defcon a few years back and was amazed at what innovation was put into such a small game.

    Too bad the only thing developers do is give us some form of a shooter lately, and change the graphics and call it amazing. Bioshock had a good story, but that was like 2 years ago already.

    --
    The price is always right if someone else is paying.
    1. Re:That's easy.... by Jim+Hall · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Most of the games that are coming out, suck. Plain and simple. The problem with developers is that they are confusing great technology with great games. They can go hand in hand, but largely speaking -- games need story, innovation, depth.

      I'd like to disagree - but I can't. I definitely consider myself a gamer, but many of the games that have come out recently just aren't that compelling.

      • Tomb Raider Underworld? Not that interesting - and too short, even though they helpfully added extra rooms just to give you something to traverse.
      • I thought Mirror's Edge would be more awesome than it is. Oh, it's a very pretty game, visually amazing, with great FPS platforming. Unfortunately, most of the platforming requires 100% perfect timing. Repeated failures just made me quit.
      • The Ghostbusters demo is way cool, but I suspect it's all nostalgia-value. I'll pick it up again in a month and see if the demo still makes me want to play more.
      • Killzone 2 was a ton of fun, but has little re-play value. Still, I'd rate this as the last really good game I've played. And that's going back a few months now.

      The games I'm really waiting for are the next Ratchet & Clank and the next Uncharted.

      Honestly, I'm having more fun with PlayStation Network titles. The price point is certainly lower, but I also don't expect as much out of a $10 or $15 game - compared to the punch a $55 game should bring. As a result, I'm not that disappointed if a cheap PSN game doesn't turn out that great. So I'm willing to take more of a risk for a PSN title than a $55 retail title.

      • Battlefield 1943 is entirely an online multiplayer game, but mildly addicting.
      • I thought Burn Zombie Burn was fun for the first level, then kind of stunk. But I don't regret buying it, because it was so cheap.
      • Flower was (and continues to be) awesome. I went back and re-played a few stages just last weekend.
      • I'm almost finished with Last Guy (and have been since the week after I got it) and just can't work up the excitement to go back and finish the game. I've gotten my fun-value out of it.
      • I got hooked by Pixeljunk Monsters, bought the expansion, then played about one stage of that before I lost interest. But I definitely got my money's worth on that game.
  5. Enough with the correlationisnotcausation tag by StikyPad · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The phrase is a reminder that two events may not be linked, not proof positive that they're not. You don't measure below-average rainfall during a drought, and then say "Let's keep in mind, other factors could be at play than a drought!" A drought IS an extended period of reduced rainfall, by definition. Similarly, there is no question that low sales are linked to a recession, because they define a recession.

    --
    https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  6. Ya by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've never gotten why people like that comparison metric. I mean I understand wanting to compare to how you did last year but at least to a 6 month rolling average. Games do not come out on rigid schedules, it isn't like "On the 4th day of June each year a massively popular game WILL be released." No, they come out when they are done, particularly in the case of better games. So you have to look at the sales over a period of time, like 6-12 months. If less games are sold for the whole year of 2009 than 2008 then yes, clearly there is a problem for the game industry. However if one month is down, so what? Maybe it just means that something people really want slid a month.

    I know as a gamer I don't go around saying "Ok, it is time to buy my May game," I buy games when one I want comes out and I've got time to play it. That could mean I buy 3 games in a month, or that I buy no games for 3 months. It all depends on what is coming out when, and how my time is looking. Currently, I'm having to hold off on purchasing more games because I have too many, I've got a backlog. I bought games that I haven't yet got around to playing. Did that with Fallout 3. Picked it up not long after release since I love Fallout and it was on special. However, other than playing the intro, I haven't got around to it. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, just because I've been playing other things. However I want to play it, and I will, it is just an issue of time.