BBC report on gaming industry - with cool graph!

[Vroomfunkel]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6523565.stm

Check out the graph at the bottom ... poor little Dreamcast, tucked away in the corner! Nobody puts baby in the corner!

[FantasiaWHT]

Not sure I buy that graph... it shows Wii game sales in 2005...

[Nebagram]

I would mention the old quote about lies, damn lies and statistics but everyone's heard it hundreds of times before, along with the oft-cited fact that 88.2% of statistics are made up on the spot.

I do like the analogy though- Jack Thompson= modern-day book burner. Seems to fit him like a glove. :)

[cyberfluxor]

I wouldn't mind seeing wide-spread internet where people just order a game and can download off a server and expect a physical copy in the mail in a few days. It saves the consumer and brings more revenue to the game company, and although many people still don't have internet most gamers do. The only real downside I always see with this method is the feeling you get walking down an isle full of games, instead you're looking at screen shots and rolling your mouse wheel.

[Poofta!]

according to the graph, the xbox made more money in software sales than the ps2 and gamecube. and gamecube made more than the ps2 as well... is that accurate?!

[studvicious]

according to the graph, the xbox made more money in software sales than the ps2 and gamecube. and gamecube made more than the ps2 as well... is that accurate?!

No, you're just looking at it wrong. Which is easy to do because it's a horrible graph. You have to look at the height of each color to see the differences. Imagine it like a bar graph on it's side with all of the options stacked together. It's basically saying that the PS2 sold a ton and Xbox sold a little more than the Cube.

[Push Upstairs]

I do like the analogy though- Jack Thompson= modern-day book burner. Seems to fit him like a glove. :)

Best part of the article.

[udisi]

I wouldn't mind seeing wide-spread internet where people just order a game and can download off a server and expect a physical copy in the mail in a few days. It saves the consumer and brings more revenue to the game company, and although many people still don't have internet most gamers do. The only real downside I always see with this method is the feeling you get walking down an isle full of games, instead you're looking at screen shots and rolling your mouse wheel.

That's not what he was saying. They want to go all virtual. It totally makes sense for the industry as they save money on production and protect from over-production, but I don't see all gamers being happy with vaporware. The guy's idea of the perfect game industry is a box with downloadable games and updateable games with interchangable in-game advertising. It's a very interesting idea, but I don't see people being happy spending $50-$60 a pop for a bunch of ones and zeros, most people expect something physical.