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Video games grow despite crap economy
- February 13, 2009 09:20 AM PST
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The U.S. market for video game software and hardware registered another month of year-on-year growth in January.
PS3 sales down from 2008
The U.S. market for video game software and hardware registered another month of year-on-year growth in January adding further weight to the theory that the sector is relatively insulated from recession.
The total market was worth US$1.3 billion in January, which is up 13 percent on January 2008, according to data from NPD Group. Software sales accounted for just over half of the market at $677 million, a rise of 10 percent on the year, while hardware sales rose 17 percent to $445 million. The remainder of the market was accounted for by accessory sales.
"At this point in the console lifecycle, we would expect to see a greater percentage of total industry sales generated by software sales, but the continued strength in hardware sales is changing that scenario a bit," the company said in a statement. "This will have a long-term positive impact on the industry as the user base expands."
Nintendo's Wii was again the top console of the month. A total of 679,200 consoles were sold during the month -- more than double that of the Xbox 360 and three times that of the PlayStation 3 -- while "Wii Fit," "Wii Play" and "Mario Kart" were the top three ranked software titles. The games sold a respective 777,000, 415,000 and 292,000 copies in the month.
The second-ranked Xbox 360 saw sales of 309,000 consoles while PlayStation 3 sales were 203,200 units, NPD said.
In the handheld sector, the DS sold 510,800 units easily beating the PlayStation Portable, which saw sales of 172,300 units in January, according to the report.
Among gaming titles, only two new releases made the top ten and the rest were games that had been out since before the beginning of the year. That, added to the healthy sales of hardware, shows how many new gamers are coming into the market at present, said NPD.
"This broadening of the audience for gaming will help buoy the industry through these tough economic times, provided they have enough compelling content to keep them interested," the company said.
Top Ten best-selling games in the U.S. in January were, according to NPD Group:
1) Wii Fit, Wii, 777,000 units
2) Wii Play with remote, Wii, 415,000 units
3) Mario Kart with wheel, Wii, 292,000 units
4) Left 4 Dead, Xbox 360, 243,000 units
5) Call of Duty: World at War, Xbox 360, 235,000 units
6) Skate 2, Xbox 360, 199,000 units
7) Guitar Hero World Tour, Wii, 155,000 units
8) New Super Mario Bros., DS, 135,000 units
9) Mario Kart DS, DS, 132,000 units
10) Lord of the Rings: Conquest, 360, 113,000 units.
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- Feb 13 2009 at 09:43:07:AM PST
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Lol, its really annoying to see Wii Play in the top-ten sales charts every freaking month.
I hope the PS3 picks up in hardware and software.
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Is "Crap Economy" a technical term?
Yeah, Wii Play is as Sir Charles would say...turribull
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Only really focuses on console gaming, nothing about PC gaming. If you factored in some of the larger PC publishers like Activision-Blizzard you'd see those numbers increase even more. Just because the industry is weathering the economy better than others right now, it doesn't mean companies aren't posting losses. Acti-Blizz posted a $72 Million loss in Q4 of 2008.
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goldberg_evan wrote:
Hooray for lazy Americans who choose a game for exercise.
It's a game where you exercise. Say hooray to everyone who bought yet another FPS that keeps their butts on the couch instead.
With a "crap economy", people still need entertainment. And because of the economy, people will be seeking out the less expensive options for the most part. Sony's higher price isn't going to sell a lot of consoles these days, hence the lower numbers. They are in quite a situation since lowering the price will mean a bigger loss for them.
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Guess the crap economy serves as fertilizer for the growth of the video game industry. Since the economy is crap, might as well stay home and play videogames... a lot cheaper than many other hobbies.
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Mario Kart DS came out in 2005 and it's STILL in the top sellers of January 2009! That's pretty impressive!!!
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If sony would let go of playstation 2 and just walk away lol and worry about just the ps3 they would be doing a hell of alot better and they need to drop there prices i doubt that is ever going to happen though but oh well
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It looks like 2009 won't be the year of the PS3 either. Not only is it in last place(again) but it doesn't have a single game in the top ten.
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