Peripherals cluttering 30% more homes than last year

With sales at record levels, more gamer homes are falling victim to the plastic scourge known as peripherals.

Does your living room decor match your Rock Band set?

Does your living room decor match your Rock Band set?

Drum set, guitar, microphone, dance pad, light gun--just a small portion of the peripherals that made up well over half a billion dollars in record sales during 2007. That figure is up 30% year-on-year as of May, reports NPD, with 2008 on track to set a new record.

With games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero III requiring use of pack-in peripherals, it shouldn't come as any surprise that sales are at an all-time high. Similarly, it comes with little shock that gamers can't find enough room in their living rooms to fit it all, not to mention pockets for handheld add-ons.

Runaway reception of unlikely hits like Guitar Hero: On Tour have yielded higher than expected sales. Traditionally peripherals sell poorly, yet exceptions like Activision's title are bucking the trend with over 300, 000 copies sold in a single week. Even with record sales though, peripherals accounted for approximately 3% of the $18 billion dollar gaming industry last year.

A wave of new products including instruments for Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and Rock Revolution, Wii MotionPlus, and a bevy of others are likely to push that figure higher. Just make sure you have room for all that plastic.

Comments [19]

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ChokaDaChicken

damn those toys , the companies should put out some quality games Aerosmith Guitar Hero exempt instead of putting out crap ass games

HaNnIbAl666

And all these companies will continue to spew plastic until Greenpeace camps outside their offices.

3ple2x

ps360fan Posted at: 08/03/08 at 7:33 PM PST congrats you dumbasses
good job you dumbass!

eviltim

i just realized, in the past year i got about 8 periphrials... i'm bored now

hiphophippy27

When they say "peripherals" do they mean devices required to play a game such ass the WiiWheel with MarioKartWii and the Guitar in Guitar Hero, or do they mean add-on accessories such as the Wi-Fi adaptor for the 360?[p] Whatever, I guess this means Guitar Hero is the future! lol and people are really good at it.[p] Anybody been to Times Square? I was there over the weekend and I saw some guy holding the guitar behind his head yet still nailing every single note to a song. Damn that game is popular.

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