Video game industry roars in December

Video game industry sales grew 9 percent, year-over-year, in December, and were up 19 percent for the year, according to the latest figures from analyst firm, the NPD Group.

Overall, the industry saw sales of $5.29 billion in December, the first time it had ever cleared the $5 billion mark in a single month, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

And once again, the video game industry far outpaced general retail sales, which were down 2.7 percent from November. By contrast, video games were up 81.8 percent over November's $2.91 billion.

Leading the way again was Nintendo, which sold 2.15 million Wii consoles and 3.04 million DS handhelds. Microsoft moved 1.44 million Xbox 360s, and Sony, once again, lagged behind, selling just 726,000 PlayStation 3s, 410,000 PS2s, and 1.02 million PSPs.

It was the first time, NPD said, that any video game machine--the Nintendo DS--had topped 3 million units in a single month, evidence perhaps of consumers wanting a good bargain at a time when resources are tight.

For the year, NPD said that the industry totaled $21.33 billion in sales, up 19 percent from the $17.97 billion it recorded in 2007.

All told, the numbers provided further evidence that video games may be one of the very few economic segments that are, more or less, recession-proof.

Of course, the industry's success isn't universal, and there have been a large number of layoffs at video game companies, just as has been seen across the economy as a whole.

"We get asked a lot why there are so many layoffs and studio closings occurring in the industry when it has just realized another record-breaking year," said Frazier in NPD's release of its December numbers. "This is not a case of the rising tide lifting all boats. The increases are not being enjoyed equally by all manufacturers and publishers."

[TheDonAndMikeShow]

Today in ?The Silicon Valley Insider? blog the writer takes notice of a Dell Playstation 3 deal and ponders if a PS3 price cut is already in effect. I look at shopping deal sites like http://www.fatwallet.com and http://www.slickdeals.com all the time and I noticed in December there were a ton of unbundled deals available for PS3 systems, games and especially Blu-ray discs. It seems that these deals should be seen as indication a fuzzy PS3 price cut has already occurred but Sony?s Playstation 3 sales are not being helped by price change. http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/price-cuts-at-last-dell-selling-ps3-for-340-dell-sne

[Penguinisto]

Minor correction/edit needed:

Nintendo shifted 5.19m units that played video games, Microsoft shifted 1.44m units that play games, and Sony shifted 2.15 units that played games... but Sony is the laggard?

I'm asking this because you didn't specify particular types of units (e.g. which-gen game consoles vs. portables), but specified (and counted) video game units in general. Under that assumption, Microsoft comes in as the laggard by a hefty percentage.

Now yeah, when it comes to consoles, Sony is barely last place (with 1.2m units total vs. 1.44m units of xbox), but you need to clarify that, you know?

/P

[ApplerPS3]

Thats exactly what i was thinking while reading the article itself, especially with Sony's genius to keep selling a last-generation console in great numbers.

[boogerstick]

Sony shill or an idiot. Which one are you?

[snoop911]

According to numerous articles*, the xbox360 has sold over 25 million consoles (as of Nov. 2008). The original xbox has also sold 25 million lifetime, where is that on the chart?

Also, according to the latest Nielsen report just published*, more people still play the original xbox than they do the ps3. I'm not a M$ fanboy (I own a wii), but there seems to be some major discrepancies/omissions going on.


*http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/11/25/xbox-360-hits-25-million-consoles-sold-a-full-2-years-faster-than-original-xbox/
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/56579