video game sales WAY down in April... are we looking at a crash?

[Mayhem]

There was an article on the BBC News website about this, and even they said it was mostly likely due to a lack of high selling games like there was last year...

[Bojay1997]

Sounds like all genres of video games ever. Space Invaders clones, Pac Man clones, and Pong clones in the arcade days, mascot platformers and shmups on the 8 and 16 bit era, fighting games, Japanese RPGs, RTS games, FPS titles on both PC and console, sandbox games, World of Warcraft style MMOs were rampant for a while, there are something like seven or eight DOTA clones out there now with more on the way, every game has a horde mode now for some reason, there isn't a number large enough to count the number of Farmville clones available on every platform ever, and that goes double for tower defense... Innovation tends to come through iteration of safe, provably profitable foundations. And when a game DOES do something new and exciting and popular, everyone copies them. Since the dawn of time, and throughout all media; not just games.

And so what of it? I get tired of people whining that all that comes out anymore are Call of Duty clones and GTA clones, because not only is that bullshit, but the nostalgia that usually lurks behind the sentiment is a view of the past through the rosiest of glasses. In fifteen years we'll have to listen to the CoD generation whine about the exact same thing, defaming whatever is popular and reminiscing about how better everything was back in their day. Nostalgia is as dangerous a drug as anything that's out there. It's one thing to fondly remember an era you were in love with; its entirely another to allow that to warp your perception of the present.

Strongly agree with this. As an early home computer gamer, I remember almost every game I ever had on the Apple II and later Commodore 64 being either a straight up clone or built upon a mechanic taken from another game. Despite that fact, there were many great games released on both platforms and that has continued on every platform I have ever owned since. People that lament the decline of creativity and quality in gaming just don't open themselves up to everything that's out there. The gaming landscape has never been as rich or as diverse as it is today and while the platforms and delivery methods may change, gaming is definitely getting better every day and will continue to grow and prosper for many, many decades to come.

[BetaWolf47]

And so what of it? I get tired of people whining that all that comes out anymore are Call of Duty clones and GTA clones, because not only is that bullshit, but the nostalgia that usually lurks behind the sentiment is a view of the past through the rosiest of glasses. In fifteen years we'll have to listen to the CoD generation whine about the exact same thing, defaming whatever is popular and reminiscing about how better everything was back in their day. Nostalgia is as dangerous a drug as anything that's out there. It's one thing to fondly remember an era you were in love with; its entirely another to allow that to warp your perception of the present.

Games being GTA clones and Call of Duty clones is the least of why games are crap right now. It's publishers getting paranoid about piracy, games coming out unfinished, and DLC raising the prices of the games that make gaming crap nowadays. Whichever way you slice it, we never had to deal with that kind of thing "back in the day". I agree with you, mostly, on your sentiment though. Although boring war shooters do make up a good portion of games this generation, people who think that's all that exists should get a PS3 platformer/adventure, or a first-party Nintendo game, or check out the PC indie scene.

[G-Boobie]

With Max Payne 3 and Diablo III, the sales numbers should be much better for May. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I just want to make this clear: NPD numbers are essentially irrelevant. If you're dead set on playing video game sales doomsayer, you're going to need to check out press releases, quarterly P&L statements, hack Gabe Newell's email, develop a close relationship with Turbine's accounting department, do manual stock checks at Walmart, Target, and Frys, and commit corporate espionage over at Riot, Nexxon, and GOG, and start hacking iTunes and Facebook to get their sales data. Otherwise you're wasting everyone's time.

[otaku]

well at least one developer in rhode island is making the news its going under and could cost tax payers big bucks (100mil or so)
if the economy would pick up I think these sales would to and here shortly next few years we should see some more new hardware to boost sales somewhat.

that said I'm too broke to do any gaming other than really cheap used buys and micro stuff on my phone and in steam and even that I shouldn't really do but I have an addiction! lol

[RCM]

I just want to make this clear: NPD numbers are essentially irrelevant.

In terms of gauging what's truly going on with the market I'd agree, but they serve as a good indicator of what consumers are doing with the physical market (minus used sales). While it isn't 100% conclusive, NPD data strongly hints at the shifting market to digital and mobile.

On a side note, it's a shame NPD is not or cannot capture enough data to illustrate what's really going with the market. I used to receive their reports and the data they covered extended far beyond a top 10 or 20 list.

[M.Buster2184]

In terms of gauging what's truly going on with the market I'd agree, but they serve as a good indicator of what consumers are doing with the physical market (minus used sales). While it isn't 100% conclusive, NPD data strongly hints at the shifting market to digital and mobile.

On a side note, it's a shame NPD is not or cannot capture enough data to illustrate what's really going with the market. I used to receive their reports and the data they covered extended far beyond a top 10 or 20 list.

I know I'm in the minority with more and more people playing games on their phones and mobile devices, but I could never get into it. I played Angry Birds a bit, had fun, then was bored with it. The only game I have on my phone now is Scramble with Friends. Id rather come home and play a console or take my DSI with me to work or wherever.

[swlovinist]

There are alot of factors that are the reasons why numbers are down. I for one have been saying that there will be a correction coming in the game industry. There are some great games coming out...just that there are also some great turds churning out just as much. For every Diablo III there are four games that waste shelf space/digital space...which brings up a big hurdle for the industry moving forward.

Right now we are dealing with a market cooling with aging consoles that are really overdue for a price reduction. There are also so many great titles that have came out for the last couple of years I for one am at game saturation...I could never buy a new game and have enough games to last a lifetime.

I think that the game market will have some great winning titles, but overall you are going to see a trend to fewer titles sold over the next few years. I agree with some others that have said that there are the two types of markets right now. The big fish developers and the the small indepenent companies...there is not room for the middle at all at this time.

I am not worried about the trend. There are still a ton of excellent games coming out and that are out. If the amount of games sold in the industry is less, then so be it...

[Rob2600]

There are some great games coming out...just that there are also some great turds churning out just as much. For every Diablo III there are four games that waste shelf space/digital space...which brings up a big hurdle for the industry moving forward.

This excuse isn't specific to this generation of gaming. This has been the case since the late 1970s. For every one great Atari 2600 game, there were several pieces of garbage sitting next to it on the shelf. Same with the NES, Game Boy, Genesis, SNES, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, etc. It will always be that way. There must be some other reason why sales are decreasing...

Right now we are dealing with a market cooling with aging consoles that are really overdue for a price reduction.

And there's the answer. It happens at the end of every console generation, yet so many people get amnesia every several years and think the industry is collapsing. This generation is winding down and many developers are focusing on creating games for new hardware.

[j_factor]

Right now we are dealing with a market cooling with aging consoles that are really overdue for a price reduction.

This. Consoles this old have never been nearly this expensive. I can't believe how pricey they are for such old hardware.