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

[WCP]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/05/11/video-game-sales-down-42-in-april-due-to-lack-of-new-releases-aging-consoles/

Wow... This is pretty shocking. Looking at the NPD numbers for April 2012, things are looking very bleak for video gaming. In April 2011, consumers spent 503 million on video games. This April ? 292 million. A 42 percent drop, year over year. The Number 1 selling game in April was Prototype 2, but get this... it sold less than 236,000, possibly considerably less than 236K. And it was the No.1 game on the list! Microsoft sold 236,000 Xbox 360 systems. Down 20.5 percent.

I know that Sony and Microsoft were both planning on waiting till at least November 2013, but I don't know.... Only 24 days left before the first press conference, so too late in the game to make such a huge change of plans, but I'm now thinking that we are going to see either Sony or MS launch their console next spring if this sales slump continues to drag on.

[wingzrow]

and people said it would never crash, well at least we're getting a recession and hopefully we come out better because of it.

BURN baby BURN!

[Press_Start]

Well, I wouldn't read into it too much. Remember what came out exactly right now (April) last year.....Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, Crysis 2 and a new handheld 3DS release in US.

Also, consider a numeral other factors like the lack of pig-budget AAA titles, controversy from Mass Effect 3 and TekkenXCapcom spilling over, and people saving up for the Diablo and Max Payne in May this month.

[YoshiM]

"Are we looking at a crash?"

Um, no.

Prototype 2 came out at the end of April and its sales for that short length of time and sold slightly more than half of what the original Prototype took in back in June of 2009 (419,900 units sold). It took until March 2012 to reach 2.1 million sold worldwide. So being top game in a month with not a lot of competition is nothing to be surprised about. Just another doom and gloom, bring out the next gen to get your eyeballs news bit.

Makes me wonder-what came out last April that had such sales? I know Portal 2 came out, what else rolled out that month that could account for such sales?

[Press_Start]

Makes me wonder-what came out last April that had such sales? I know Portal 2 came out, what else rolled out that month that could account for such sales?

April 2011
Mortal Kombat (360/PS3) = 1.22 mill
Portal 2 (PC/360/PS3) = 1.11 mill
Crysis 2 (PC/360/PS3) = 260k
SOCOM 4 (PS3) = 270k
and a boatload of new 3DS titles

April 2012
Kinect Star Wars (360) = 670k
Witcher 2 (360/PC) = 287k
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) = 220k
Prototype 2 (360/PS3/PC) = 460k

[WCP]

Look, I know that a video game crash like back in the early 80's is pretty much impossible, but things could get a bit sketchy. What if the Wii U comes out, and nobody but the core Nintendo faithful buy it? Sure, it will have impressive sales over Xmas, because there are enough Nintendo faithful that will buy it sight unseen, but after that the sales could fall off a cliff. I'm not sure that's how it's going to go down, but stranger things have happened. Then if MS and Sony bring out their consoles, and again, only the hardcore faithful by them, and after that the sales fall off a cliff again?

What if the only thing people are buying is the 99 cents iPhone type games and handful of triple A blockbusters? The economy and high gas prices and lack of job security seems to be making people a bit skittish, and maybe buying a new high priced console (anything above $199) is going to be a hard sell. Things could get really sketchy. I'm hoping for the best, but I can definitely see a bumpy video game road unless we get a real gaming breakthrough that rejuvenates the industry.

[Sunnyvale]

I wouldn't be surprised if many were saving up to stand in line to buy the next console. Give them something to jump at, they'll drop cash. But with shovelware on the $60 shelves and the next gen just moments away...

[Bojay1997]

Look, I know that a video game crash like back in the early 80's is pretty much impossible, but things could get a bit sketchy. What if the Wii U comes out, and nobody but the core Nintendo faithful buy it? Sure, it will have impressive sales over Xmas, because there are enough Nintendo faithful that will buy it sight unseen, but after that the sales could fall off a cliff. I'm not sure that's how it's going to go down, but stranger things have happened. Then if MS and Sony bring out their consoles, and again, only the hardcore faithful by them, and after that the sales fall off a cliff again?

What if the only thing people are buying is the 99 cents iPhone type games and handful of triple A blockbusters? The economy and high gas prices and lack of job security seems to be making people a bit skittish, and maybe buying a new high priced console (anything above $199) is going to be a hard sell. Things could get really sketchy. I'm hoping for the best, but I can definitely see a bumpy video game road unless we get a real gaming breakthrough that rejuvenates the industry.

I disagree. This is just a normal slow-down at the end of a generation of consoles. It's also a really slow month with far fewer must own titles than this time a year ago as several others have pointed out. The economy was far worse last year at this time, so it's certainly not the dominant factor in this year to year drop. The industry doesn't need some amazing breakthrough. Great games and well made reasonably priced new consoles will keep things going for a good long while.

[The 1 2 P]

but I'm now thinking that we are going to see either Sony or MS launch their console next spring if this sales slump continues to drag on.

Don't think too hard because thats not going to happen. Both Sony and Microsoft have already stated that there will be no next gen announcements at E3 this year and I can guarantee you Microsoft won't be making any announcements this year because they are still rolling out more new content(not just games) for the 360 and have a pretty big release this year with some game about a ring or something.

So no we aren't looking at a crash. What we are looking at with each new NPD report is the fact that retail is no longer the only purchase indicator that matters. People also spend lots of money on digital titles and used games. So these monthly reports only represent a part of a bigger whole and are really no cause for alarm. Nintendo is only launching the Wii U this year because Wii sales have been pretty dead the last two years, but thats to be expected based on how many consoles they have already sold.

[G-Boobie]

Ah yes, the monthly ill-considered, un-researched, reactionary "OMG ANOTHER VIDEO GAMES CRASH" post.

Jesus Christ, DP.

[AceAerosmith]

Meh, I say, meh.

[Greg2600]

As long as you don't have invalids running the companies like Atari did 30 years ago, there will be no crash.

[duffmanth]

I disagree. This is just a normal slow-down at the end of a generation of consoles. It's also a really slow month with far fewer must own titles than this time a year ago as several others have pointed out. The economy was far worse last year at this time, so it's certainly not the dominant factor in this year to year drop. The industry doesn't need some amazing breakthrough. Great games and well made reasonably priced new consoles will keep things going for a good long while.

I agree, this is just one those weird times when one console generation is nearing its end and another is on the horizon. There weren't many AAA games released last month, so that's probably the biggest factor for a lackluster April.

[G-Boobie]

Hey, also? A metric ton of money is going towards iOS games, the Android marketplace, and Facebook. While we're at it, Blizzard already sold something like three million copies of Diablo III before it's even been released, Steam has something like twenty million members, and despite all attempts at self-sabotage, Origin made EA 150 million dollars in it's first ten months. Then we have to consider that free to play games such as League of Legends and Tribes Ascend are making plenty of cash, while MMOs that have switched to free to play from subscription are suddenly profitable again.

The moral? The NPD numbers no longer tell even half the story. They've ceased to be relevant outside of causing people to post panicked doomsday what if? scenarios on GameFAQs, GAF, and assorted other forums with their idiot witchcraft.

I post this lullabye once a month, but here it is again: there's no crash coming. Not only are companies gearing up for the new consoles coming in the next year and a half, but there are revenue streams worth as much or more that they're exploring, stuff like mobile or, *gasp*, PC games of all types. Things are changing, but they're not going to die. There's way too much money involved for that. Bad years and shaky quarters? Sure! A fiery heat death like Atari? Fuck no. Relax.

[M.Buster2184]

I never understand why people are surprised at the lack on console sales. Eventually everyone who wants a PS3, 360 or Wii are going to own it or buy a used one, so of course console sales go down.

[Griking]

Hey, also? A metric ton of money is going towards iOS games, the Android marketplace, and Facebook. While we're at it, Blizzard already sold something like three million copies of Diablo III before it's even been released, Steam has something like twenty million members, and despite all attempts at self-sabotage, Origin made EA 150 million dollars in it's first ten months. Then we have to consider that free to play games such as League of Legends and Tribes Ascend are making plenty of cash, while MMOs that have switched to free to play from subscription are suddenly profitable again.

The moral? The NPD numbers no longer tell even half the story. They've ceased to be relevant outside of causing people to post panicked doomsday what if? scenarios on GameFAQs, GAF, and assorted other forums with their idiot witchcraft.

I post this lullabye once a month, but here it is again: there's no crash coming. Not only are companies gearing up for the new consoles coming in the next year and a half, but there are revenue streams worth as much or more that they're exploring, stuff like mobile or, *gasp*, PC games of all types. Things are changing, but they're not going to die. There's way too much money involved for that. Bad years and shaky quarters? Sure! A fiery heat death like Atari? Fuck no. Relax.

I agree 100% Do NPD numbers even include income from monthly subscriptions to game like WoW? What about used games? I haven't bought a lot of 'premium' games this year but I've bought a ton of games from Steam and GoG. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a correction in the gaming market. There's just too many crappy shovelware games and uninspired sequels being released on consoles to keep me interested.

[RCM]

Thanks to G-Boobie for saying almost exactly what I was going to in both his posts. Nothing to see here, move along.

[Flashback2012]

Thanks to G-Boobie for saying almost exactly what I was going to in both his posts. Nothing to see here, move along.

Feh. I would have thought for sure that before the 10th post, someone would have said it's all Gamestop's fault. I am disappoint.

[Smashed Brother]

Also, consider a numeral other factors like the lack of pig-budget AAA titles


Is that because of pork barrel spending?

[heybtbm]

April 2011
Mortal Kombat (360/PS3) = 1.22 mill
Portal 2 (PC/360/PS3) = 1.11 mill
Crysis 2 (PC/360/PS3) = 260k
SOCOM 4 (PS3) = 270k
and a boatload of new 3DS titles

April 2012
Kinect Star Wars (360) = 670k
Witcher 2 (360/PC) = 287k
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) = 220k
Prototype 2 (360/PS3/PC) = 460k

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!

Personally, I held off buying new games to clear my schedule for Diablo III.

[Gamevet]

I've held off on buying many new games, because I have a decent sized backlog of current gen games I need to play through. I'm still hoping to play Mass Effect 3, but I've had MS2 sitting around for quite a long time. And I just finished up Uncharted 3, that I've had since January.

[Nebagram]

As long as the big franchises (like CoD, FIFA and Madden) keep selling there'll never be another crash. Ever. All markets go through peaks and troughs. Call me when GTA5 sells under 500k in its first month.

[WCP]

In regards to my use of "Crash". Probably shouldn't have used that word. I don't seriously believe we are going to have a Crash like the early 80's. That would be unthinkable in this day and age, but I still think we could be looking at some very troubled times for the video game market. It seems like it's mostly turned into an all or nothing market. Games either sell extremely well, or they sell horribly. Not much in-between. Triple A blockbusters are selling, but wanna-be blockbusters are bombing like never before. There is no more middle ground. You either need to be $15 or less (digital download), or you need to be a full on Triple A blockbuster type game. Lower tier games that "think" they are potential blockbusters, are suffering a bloodbath at retail.

[Bojay1997]

In regards to my use of "Crash". Probably shouldn't have used that word. I don't seriously believe we are going to have a Crash like the early 80's. That would be unthinkable in this day and age, but I still think we could be looking at some very troubled times for the video game market. It seems like it's mostly turned into an all or nothing market. Games either sell extremely well, or they sell horribly. Not much in-between. Triple A blockbusters are selling, but wanna-be blockbusters are bombing like never before. There is no more middle ground. You either need to be $15 or less (digital download), or you need to be a full on Triple A blockbuster type game. Lower tier games that "think" they are potential blockbusters, are suffering a bloodbath at retail.

Well, that's a point a lot of developers have been making in the last few years. It has nothing to do with your OP though.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

There are many reasons crashes happen, but most of the time they come immediately after a period of uncontrolled growth, which I don't think we've had recently. In 1982, the uncontrolled growth came when four new consoles were released in a market that already had three, and everybody and their mom was suddenly making games. Same thing happened when the "tech bubble" burst in the year 2000. Here's a NASDAQ chart that shows the gigantic period of growth followed by a sudden decline:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nasdaq2.png.

Of course, the biggest crash ever, 1929, came after a large period of economic growth during the "roaring 20s." The point is, I think the future of the video game market is fine, and the current gen is going through some stagnation right now, probably because it has lasted so long. You might be right about how WiiU is going to be only supported by its Nintendo's hardcore supporters, but Nintendo's been through that before with other systems. They'll be okay, and the 3DS will most likely continue to sell well.

[Gamevet]

In regards to my use of "Crash". Probably shouldn't have used that word. I don't seriously believe we are going to have a Crash like the early 80's. That would be unthinkable in this day and age, but I still think we could be looking at some very troubled times for the video game market. It seems like it's mostly turned into an all or nothing market. Games either sell extremely well, or they sell horribly. Not much in-between. Triple A blockbusters are selling, but wanna-be blockbusters are bombing like never before. There is no more middle ground. You either need to be $15 or less (digital download), or you need to be a full on Triple A blockbuster type game. Lower tier games that "think" they are potential blockbusters, are suffering a bloodbath at retail.

Yeah. You're going to see more publishing houses either being bought out, or making smaller titles for iOS and Steam. Publishers need to stop trying to get a piece of the FPS market that is dominated by Call of Duty, Halo and the Battlefield series.

[Sunnyvale]

Yeah. You're going to see more publishing houses either being bought out, or making smaller titles for iOS and Steam. Publishers need to stop trying to get a piece of the FPS market that is dominated by Call of Duty, Halo and the Battlefield series.

But then we'd have no Gears of War or L4D!!!
No L4D.
That is all.

[kupomogli]

It seems like it's mostly turned into an all or nothing market. Games either sell extremely well, or they sell horribly. Not much in-between. Triple A blockbusters are selling, but wanna-be blockbusters are bombing like never before. There is no more middle ground. You either need to be $15 or less (digital download), or you need to be a full on Triple A blockbuster type game. Lower tier games that "think" they are potential blockbusters, are suffering a bloodbath at retail.

It's not as simple as only AAA titles selling, because there are a lot of great AAA games that sell like crap. Advertisement doesn't seem to do a damn thing for the most part. Established IPs are selling, but an established IP that hasn't clicked with the gaming community or a new IP no matter how good they are is mostly pure luck on whether it'll sell or not.

[Gamevet]

But then we'd have no Gears of War or L4D!!!
No L4D.
That is all.

Those are 3rd person shooters. ;)

I'm talking about titles like RAGE, Vanquish, and Duke Nukem Forever.

[goatdan]

Last year, a bunch of people were talking about how down movie ticket sales were, and how this was ushering in the end of the movie theater experience.

The Avengers just made $1 billion in two weeks at the box office. Something tells me that Dark Knight Rises might make the same sort of cash. And, we have had a LOT of other big movies this year already, and a lot more coming up.

This year's box office is up almost $700 million above what it was at this point last year.

Why?

Simple -- studios made movies the public wanted to see.

Game sales were down this month compared to last month last year?

Why?

Simple -- game studios made games the public didn't want to play as much this year.

Look, the public is a fickle thing, and one of the things that so many people even in the industry don't understand is that it isn't like people go, "Wow, I don't want to see a movie this week. Well, I have $10 and nothing better to do, I'm going to go settle for one anyway." I've worked in the entertainment industry, and it is fascinating to watch how a lot of people think that is what the public does. If you don't want to see the Avengers, does that mean that you're automatically going to go see The Three Stooges? Absolutely not.

If you aren't interested in playing Prototype 2, it isn't like you should be expected to go drop $60 on some other new game because it's April. You'll buy something when it interests you.

And, as for people complaining as usual that no new IP can get any traction, let's see here... ALL of these were new series for the latest generation:

Prototype
LA Noire
Alan Wake
Red Dead Redemption
Left 4 Dead
Uncharted
Resistance Fall of Man
Gears of War
Bioshock
Mass Effect

...and that is just the ones I can think of offhand, only thinking of the PS3 and 360. Yeah, not every new IP hits with all markets, but honestly, not every IP deserves to hit with all markets, and that market changes and changes quickly, so you should never expect a 'sure fire hit' to actually be a sure fire hit until it has landed.

Alas, so many analysts and industry executives feel that entertainment is like food -- well, if you don't eat a taco for lunch, you still gotta eat *something* -- and so a lot of the analysis out there is going to flip between doom and gloom and roses all the time.

[The 1 2 P]

Those are 3rd person shooters. ;)

Left 4 Dead is actually a fps series, not 3rd person;)

[Sunnyvale]

Those are 3rd person shooters. ;)

I'm talking about titles like RAGE, Vanquish, and Duke Nukem Forever.

Ok, you caught me on GoW, I never got past the opening story. But The 12P got you on L4D...


Left 4 Dead is actually a fps series, not 3rd person;)

It's THE FPS series.

[Press_Start]

And, as for people complaining as usual that no new IP can get any traction, let's see here... ALL of these were new series for the latest generation:

Prototype
LA Noire
Alan Wake
Red Dead Redemption
Left 4 Dead
Uncharted
Resistance Fall of Man
Gears of War
Bioshock
Mass Effect


Thing is the ones you listed are mostly shooters/GTA-oneoffs that have already saturated the market in one form or another, which's no problem if you're the guy making serious coin off them, unless developers are getting sick and tired of them too.
(http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=177179)

[G-Boobie]

Thing is the ones you listed are mostly shooters/GTA-oneoffs that have already saturated the market in one form or another, which's no problem if you're the guy making serious coin off them, unless developers are getting sick and tired of them too.
(http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=177179)

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.

[jonebone]

Glad to see that people already made the point of April 2012 just being a slack month in terms of good games. If you think the game industry is crashing, wait until you see the Diablo III sales numbers, lol. Probably record highs across the board, so I fully expect a "OMG, The Game Industry is Stronger than EVER BEFORE!" post shortly thereafter.

And Red Dead Redemption was not a new IP series on this generation, it's the sequel to Red Dead Revolved from PS2 / Xbox, which is last generation.

However, RDR is one of the best games I've played on the 360, they did everything right. You can argue it's just a GTA clone, but I'd much rather play RDR than GTA anyday. It was a phenomenal game.

[Gamevet]

Ok, you caught me on GoW, I never got past the opening story. But The 12P got you on L4D...



It's THE FPS series.


I was thinking of Dead Rising. I've never played L4D, but zombie games get a free pass. Who doesn't love shooting them? :)

[Robocop2]

Figure-wise and I know I can't speak for everyone but,

of the games mentioned that released last April; I bought two of them because I had intrest in them,
the four mentioned for this April; I have little to no intrest in owning.

Also, what about other games that released around that time frame? Seems kind of difficult to base the entire industry on 4 games that released in a given month when there are so many other games out there.

It doesn't have to be AAA title to sell well, it just has to be intreseting and/or good. The populace at large may be differnt but that's how I see it. It has little to do with economy methinks and more to do with intrest. There are plenty of things coming down the pipe that I want they're just didn't come out in April this year. Wait until the holiday season and see what sales are like, then we can discuss a crash...maybe.

[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.

[goatdan]

Thing is the ones you listed are mostly shooters/GTA-oneoffs that have already saturated the market in one form or another, which's no problem if you're the guy making serious coin off them, unless developers are getting sick and tired of them too.
(http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=177179)

Thing is -- the general public is buying them. ALL of those series have been hits, so the market clearly isn't saturated.

And honestly, the developers are hired to develop the titles their company wants them to make. If they don't want to make shooters, then they need to either convince that company to do something else, or to go somewhere else. If those games don't sell and shooters do though, guess what the money is going to be on? If those games are selling, and people are making them, it doesn't matter. And they are.

Oh, and jonebone - you're right, Red Dead Revolver was so different that I don't even associate the two in my head, but you can say that Red Dead Revolver was not a new series. The other nine or so stand, however, and there are lots of other examples - new IP can still break through if it is done correctly.

[Genesaturn]

I get tired of news outlets doing the whole doom and gloom thing with any industry. Oh no game sales aren't as high as last year! do we sense a crash!??? oh no, florida harvested 4% less oranges last year! are we in for a orange juice famine!???

It's kind of ridiculous, and I get tired of people who obviously don't even play games, pretending they know the game industry and it's future. Game sales have been down most of the last year. It's not because people aren't buying games, but there hasn't been as many games worth buying. Especially when you have a system in the Wii that has been mostly dead weight the past year with the exception of Zelda and only a few new ..good..releases.

[Sunnyvale]

I was thinking of Dead Rising. I've never played L4D, but zombie games get a free pass. Who doesn't love shooting them? :)

Oh yes. I can't handle to clunky controls in most of the RE games, but L4D rules the day. The first one.

[The Shawn]

Why would anyone wonder why sales are going down in videeo games? seriously? The econonmy is absolute shit and it should be a matter of course for anyone who's narrative is the "videogame market" Who gives a shit?

Best bet is to secure an atari 2600 before the end of the year. (With games)

[Sunnyvale]

Best bet is to secure an atari 2600 before the end of the year. (With games)

Wouldn't that be funny? If all of us quit buying anything new and spent that money on the 2600...
Then Atari would have caused 2 collapses with the same console! Boo-ya!

[Griking]

Glad to see that people already made the point of April 2012 just being a slack month in terms of good games. If you think the game industry is crashing, wait until you see the Diablo III sales numbers, lol. Probably record highs across the board, so I fully expect a "OMG, The Game Industry is Stronger than EVER BEFORE!" post shortly thereafter.



lol they'll probably think that D3 was a disappointment because digital download sales won't be included for some asinine reason.

[Lady Jaye]

It's like the sales figures for Xenoblade Chronicles: many people bought the European version instead before NoA changed its mind and decided to release it here after all. Also, I was in Boston when the game came out and visited a Gamestop there, and you'd never know that Nintendo had a new game out, since nothing in the store really cried out "new Nintendo game out!".

[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...

[WCP]

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.

[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...

[CelticJobber]

I haven't bought anything lately because my PS3 got the YLOD a month or 2 ago and I haven't been able to repair it or get a new one yet.

[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.