GamingIndustry
Latest
NPD estimates video game industry raked in $30.4 billion in 2016
The video game industry tracker NPD Group has occasional releases throughout the year, tallying up things from the month's top-selling games to console vs. console sales to how many NES Classic Editions flew off the shelves back in November. But it's the annual revenue generation that draws real attention as a loose report card for the industry, and last year's has just come out. In 2016, NPD estimates that consumers spent $30.4 billion on games and accessories, which is a modest $200 million more than in 2015.
EA, Ubisoft execs applaud PS3 price cut, also like things that are good
Well, this one doesn't exactly come out of left field, but it looks like gaming industry execs are starting to sing a decidedly different tune now that Sony has finally cut the price of the PS3. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft bigwig Yves Guillemot said that "it's exceptional news, actually," adding that "I think the machine is a great machine, with the Blu-ray." EA Games president Frank Gibeau was also apparently more than happy to back up that praise, saying that, "I think it's awesome," and that "it's an old line, but it still rings true for us: 'We make the ammunition for the hardware wars.' So the lowest priced hardware possible is a good thing for us." Still noticeably mum on the matter, however, is Activision's CEO, who once threatened to pick up his ball and go home if Sony didn't drop its prices. [Via Joystiq]
November NPD: big franchises, new consoles drive industry sales up 34% [update 1]
The above headline shouldn't come as a great surprise to many gamers, what with November having been a deadly obstacle course of top-tier franchises and console debuts. Surviving the month with wallet unscathed was quite impossible, a fact clearly reflected in the NPD's sales data for the period which typically sees manufacturers clash in full force, guns blazing. Consumers caught in the cash crossfire spent an impressive $1.7 billion in total, with console, software and accessory sales all seeing notable increases. The NPD's Anita Frazier told GameDaily BIZ that she expects this to be a record-breaking year for the industry, with total sales expected to come in at $14 billion. In the interest of having you maintain consciousness, we've put the most pertinent information into those convenient bullet-point things (it also ties in nicely with our earlier gun metaphor):Console Sales (units) DS: 918k PS2: 664k Game Boy Advance: 661k Xbox 360: 511k Wii: 476k PSP: 412k PS3: 197k Software Sales (units and sales grossed) Gears of War: 1 million -- $61.5 million Final Fantasy XII: 896k -- $49 million The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: 412k -- $20.2 million Guitar Hero II: 356k -- $20.2 million Check out the full report for even more numbers and commentary -- mind you don't go cross-eyed.[Update 1: PSP information added.]
Public Enemy # 360
Is the Xbox 360 hurting the gaming industry and hense the "public good"? Nich Maragos of 1up.com thinks so, and he makes his case in a scholarly essay that quotes everyone from Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell to Pyrrhus of Epirus: "In this case, Microsoft is underinvesting in the public good of maintaining a stable and growing market in general -- something that its rivals Nintendo and Sony could also benefit from, resulting in resources spent to further its competitors' goals -- and putting its own interests first. ... You can't really fault Microsoft for that, because that's capitalism for you -- a deeper-seated issue than this essay has the scope for. But I submit that the rush to a new generation was a bad idea anyway, not so much because it weakened the market but because it weakened its own position. Microsoft, after all, was also a victim of the market -- those were Xbox titles suffering right alongside the PS2 and GameCube games on shelves. Furthermore, the 360 production issues caused by the rush to launch have impacted the one reason Microsoft had for going ahead with it in the first place: that key first-mover advantage." Maragos opines that Microsoft's willingness to sandbag the market in exchange for a clumsy head start is a Pyrrhic victory at best. Only time will tell. But please, let's not confuse the "public good" as it relates to competing multi-national corporations with the "public good" as it relates to actual gamers. A slow-down in the current-gen market might cause concern at MS and Sony, but it's fine for consumers, who now have the ability to pick up Xbox and PS2 titles at reduced prices. As for fanboys, our early-adapter options have only increased, despite whatever troubles you may have had at the local Wal-Mart. I'll credit the evil capitalists at Microsoft with getting the party started. Of course, if you disagree, don't tell me, tell CBS.
