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Video games continue to sell well despite poor global economy

People not into video games and outside the industry may think of the video gamer as a younger teen or tween living at home with mom and dad. The reality is that the modern average gamer is a 35-year-old person with a significant disposable income who has played games since youth.

Home prices have dropped, credit cards are tanking, but despite the failing industries and the poor economy, the video game industry has marched on unfazed. Much of the continued growth and sales in the video game industry have been on the backs of some top-tier sequel titles that have launched in 2008.

A couple of the standout hits have been from the music game genre. According to Reuters, Rock Band 2 and the numerous sequels to the ever-popular Guitar Hero franchise have continued to attract hard-core and casual gamers alike, a key statistic in the growth of the two titles.

Reports have Guitar Hero as the best selling game in the music genre. According to analysts, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock have pushed the franchise to global sales of over 23 million units.

Michael Pachter, an analyst from Wedbush Morgan Securities, said, "In the aggregate, I expect Guitar Hero will sell through around $800 to 900 million at retail globally this year, while Rock Band probably will sell through half that figure."

Despite Rock Band being expected to sell half as many copies, analysts say that Rock Band has sold more download content, one of the most profitable aspects of the genre. Other titles boasting significant sales are Call of Duty: World at War, Fallout 3, GTA IV, Gears of War 2, and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot.

GTA IV has so far sold over 11 million copies worldwide according to reports and Gears of War 2 sold over 3 million copies in its first month reports Reuters. The Xbox 360 exclusive Gears proved to be the more popular exclusive title than the PS3's Resistance 2 with an aggregate review score of 94% compared to Resistance 2's 84%.

The Call of Duty Franchise has reportedly sold more than 35 million units around the world and is continually one of the most popular games played on Xbox Live. Sports games remained popular in 2008 with EA's Madden NFL 09 and NCAA Football 09 Selling well.

Sony has a hit on its hands with its new franchise LittleBigPlanet. The game is notable for allowing the community to generate levels and share then with other players. Sony says that players have created 100,000 levels so far which have generated 20 million plays. This sort of open ended play makes for a great return on the investment for the gamer who spends $60 hard earned dollars on the title, whereas some games can be over in mere hours.

NPD Group video game analyst Anita Frazier said, "I think the very nature of the games industry has changed. Yes, there is still a dedicated group of core gamers and the really great more traditional games will still sell a lot of units, but there is so much more possibility now imaginable with content for videogame systems."

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Consoles
By dagamer34 on 12/26/2008 2:41:13 PM , Rating: 2
It would be different if Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft were trying to launch a console in this environment. Everyone who really wanted a console has one already and are just filling in their libraries with the latest games.




RE: Consoles
By dflynchimp on 12/26/2008 3:00:17 PM , Rating: 4
Which is why so far there hasn't been so much as a peep at the plans for the next gen consoles. Why put in a new product that will cannibalize your currently well-selling lineup? These companies don't want customers to wage that sort of mind battle

"well I *could* get the 360 now...but Microsoft might release the Xbox 3/Xbox1080 sometime in the near future thereby making my purchase obsolete..."

no no no. As long as sales for the current gen consoles haven't tapered out we won't be hearing much regarding the future.


RE: Consoles
By inighthawki on 12/26/2008 3:01:12 PM , Rating: 2
And those games can run at $60 a piece, which isn't exactly dirt cheap. I think that some people just still enjoy squeezing out dollars here and there to buy the latest games. Not to mention i bet a lot of these purchases are from younger kids who save up money from jobs and allowance to buy them, since I'm sure they have nothing important like a house payment to spend money on.


RE: Consoles
By Omega215D on 12/27/2008 3:32:27 AM , Rating: 3
Except you get more for your $50 - 60 worth. Once I finished the single player campaign in COD 4 and World at War I continued to play the games for the multiplayer which brought countless hours of fun. Compare that to a $10 movie ticket in which the movie is ~2 hours long.

I'm still working my way through Fallout 3 and Mass Effect and won't stop any time soon because of the story lines and immersion.

I guess video games are keeping people at home more often, thanks in part to the popular belief that it
s cheaper to stay home.


RE: Consoles
By UsernameX on 12/27/2008 4:42:33 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
And those games can run at $60 a piece, which isn't exactly dirt cheap.


Honestly it is though....

If you think about it - a movie costs $10 bucks for about 1 - 2 hours of entertainment. However, Fallout 3 (and many other games) offer 50+ hours of entertainment, which roughly calculates into a $1.20 an hour. That's CHEAP if you ask me. Especially with the amount of work that goes into games like that.


RE: Consoles
By Alexstarfire on 12/27/2008 4:02:24 PM , Rating: 2
I guess people assume that we go watch movies in theaters. I sure as hell don't. $10 to watch a movie once is way too damn expensive, and if you want popcorn or a drink you could easily spend about $20 a person on the whole experience. Course, if the girlfriend wants to go then it's not an option to say no, but she's been in Taiwan for over a year and still has over a year left to stay, so I'm saving truck loads of money in that department. I rent at $1.50 or less a movie, so that's under $1 an hour even if it's only slightly longer than an hour and a half.

You can't always look at value that way anyways. Some games have very crappy single player, think Battlefield series, but are amazing online. And of course some are vise versa. Anyways, I'd rather save $20 by waiting a month. Naturally some games will take longer to go down in price.... like almost any game made by Nintendo.


RE: Consoles
By foolsgambit11 on 12/28/2008 8:55:17 PM , Rating: 4
Congratulations, you've proven that movies are expensive.

Let's compare video games to watching over-the-air television. $0.00/hour. And television offers a lot more than 50 hours of entertainment. How about knitting? Sixty dollars worth of yarn will keep you busy for easily an order of magnitude more than 50 hours. What about playing baseball? Infinite fun. Very low cost per hour rate.

This is not to argue that video games aren't accurately priced - game design studios aren't getting unreasonably enriched for their efforts. But fun can be had for a lot cheaper.


RE: Consoles
By inighthawki on 12/28/2008 11:17:19 PM , Rating: 2
rofl, i would +1 you for that knitting comment if I hadn't posted...


RE: Consoles
By BZDTemp on 12/27/2008 12:15:36 PM , Rating: 2
I just wish it was $60!

Over here titles for the PS3 and 360 normally open somewhere between $105 and $115 and PC games usually open at $80-$95 :-(

I have just about stopped buying new games and try to wait till they are at least 6 months old but it is hard to resist. Anyway this saves me money and also shields me from buying games turning out to be only so-so. The last time I pre-ordred was Doom3 and what a mistake.


RE: Consoles
By TOAOCyrus on 12/26/2008 3:21:46 PM , Rating: 2
Well I agree it would be different if everyone was trying to introduce a new expensive console right now, I disagree that everyone who wants a new console has bought one. At least in the 360's and especially Wii's case they are selling in record numbers. I think its no coincidence that PS3 sales have dropped amidst the bad economy with its high price.


RE: Consoles
By Noya on 12/26/2008 10:40:45 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
PS3 sales have dropped amidst the bad economy with its high price.


I would say it's due to the fact BD players have dramatically dropped in price and the PS3 doesn't really have any must have titles = no value. I mean $400? You can practically build a budget gaming PC for that.


RE: Consoles
By quiksilvr on 12/27/2008 6:33:00 PM , Rating: 2
I consider Metal Gear and LittleBigPlanet must have titles. Along with Resistance, Resistance 2, MotorStorm, MotorStorm 2, and a lot of other exclusives I don't feel like typing.

Not to mention the fact that you don't have to pay $50 a year just to play these games online. Yes, its $400 bucks, but you get what you pay for. The only "accessory" you really have to buy is an HDMI cable. Other than that it has built in Wifi, a controller with a rechargeable battery and the cable to charge it with, a HDD and Blu Ray.

And you can run Linux on it, technically making it a gaming PC as well (if you have the drivers). I'm not saying 360 sucks, but really $400 is a hellova deal for what you are getting.


RE: Consoles
By bkslopper on 12/28/2008 2:33:32 AM , Rating: 2
Sure you can run Linux on a PS3, but...

why?


RE: Consoles
By Complex Pants on 12/28/2008 3:09:25 AM , Rating: 2
I opted for a PS3 over an Xbox because of its user interface actually. Bluray was a bonus, but the PS3 felt much more mature to me and since it was going to be used a primary media/movie/gaming device, I wanted a sleek "adult" interface. That is what sold me to the PS3. The Xbox just came off wrong to me. Also I didn't want to deal with the whole RROD thing.

Are there games that are on the Xbox that I would like to play? But that just wasn't worth it to me. And besides, knowing microsoft a lot of those games will eventually hit the PC.


RE: Consoles
By afkrotch on 12/29/2008 6:01:12 AM , Rating: 2
Load Linux for a cheap PC experience. I mean, if all you have is a PS3, why not? Get some OpenOffice and websurfing going on.


RE: Consoles
By amanojaku on 12/26/2008 3:22:14 PM , Rating: 2
I'm not so sure about that. I bought my girlfriend a Wii for Christmas and had a hell of a time finding it. It was sold out online and in b&m stores; if it wasn't for the Nintendo World Store I would have been out of luck. The previous week I had no problem finding a Wii, so I was shocked to see how many people were buying it. Considering the Xbox 360 has two models in the same price bracket as the Wii I'm sure that sold pretty well, too. I agree that the prices will affect the sales, but that's true in any economy. The cheaper consoles are definitely selling better, however, and don't seem to be affected much.

Nintendo Wii ($250 USD) - 2 million units
Xbox 360 ($200, $300, $400 USD) - 800,000 units
Sony PS3 ($400, $500) - 378,000 units
http://www.dailytech.com/Xbox+360+Sales+Double+PS3...


RE: Consoles
By inighthawki on 12/26/2008 3:29:45 PM , Rating: 2
Those are holiday sales though. I'm sure the numbers will differ vastly from the average day to day sales figures. Even people without very much spare cash can usually find some money for Christmas (or other holiday).


Tell it to the unemployed from EA...
By Beenthere on 12/26/2008 11:26:58 PM , Rating: 3
With EA and other companies chopping employees left and right, it's a joke to post this facade about the video game industry being recession proof. This is pure denial.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_conte...




RE: Tell it to the unemployed from EA...
By inperfectdarkness on 12/26/2008 11:40:40 PM , Rating: 2
recession proof would be quality gaming for $20. wait...how long has it been since serious sam 1 was released....?


RE: Tell it to the unemployed from EA...
By afkrotch on 12/27/2008 1:24:08 AM , Rating: 2
Serious Sam was considered quality? I thought that whole series of games sucked big dirty donkey balls.


RE: Tell it to the unemployed from EA...
By inighthawki on 12/27/2008 1:30:56 AM , Rating: 3
I played serious sam 2 with some friends over lan, coop mode and it was one of the most fun times we've ever had. If you're looking for an in-depth plot, good character development, etc, it's not for you. But if you're looking for a game that is fun, regardless of how stupid it looks, then this is a good game to try. My friends said the same thing the first time they saw me play it, then they played and they changed their mind.


RE: Tell it to the unemployed from EA...
By afkrotch on 12/27/2008 4:06:05 PM , Rating: 1
I've played it during a lan party. We all ended up going to BF1942 DC mod, UT2k7, Dungeon Keeper II, and CC Generals Shockwave mod.


By mars777 on 12/28/2008 12:51:50 AM , Rating: 2
We were talking of 20$ quality games and you have just upped the bar to 60$. (3x)


By inighthawki on 12/28/2008 11:40:31 AM , Rating: 2
I suppose the game is not for everbody, not your style of game.


This sales numbers seem to be wrong.
By archangel2021 on 12/27/2008 2:07:22 AM , Rating: 2
they reported 35 million for the COD 2008 titles? meaning, COD WAW?

I thought the article was about recent sales... I don't think even cod4 or cod waw put together get 35 million sales. This must be wrong. There is only 26.5 million xbox360's sold world wide.

Even if we combine the xbox 360 and ps3 sales of cod4 and cod world at war we don't come close to 30 million, and cod4 was released in 2007. (the 360 doubles the pse in units sold )

What is this sales unit number referring to ? 35million!?

http://vgchartz.com/games/index.php?name=call+of+d...




RE: This sales numbers seem to be wrong.
By pinlop on 12/27/2008 8:04:06 AM , Rating: 2
That sales number most likely includes PC sales for both COD titles as well as PS3 and XBOX sales. As far as I'm concerned the next gen system is always available as long as i can upgrade my PC ;D.


By neothe0ne on 12/28/2008 12:34:04 AM , Rating: 2
No actually, the PC, DS, PS2, and Wii versions of CoD:WaW didn't even sell half a million combined.


By afkrotch on 12/27/2008 4:07:39 PM , Rating: 3
Oh...the other 10 mil is from ppl scratching their COD when they moved their Xbox 360 while the disc was inside and running.

lol


RE: This sales numbers seem to be wrong.
By Andy1017 on 12/28/2008 12:56:28 AM , Rating: 2
I'm not a credible source, so don't take my word for it. But if I recall call of duty is sold on the DS, PSP, cell phones and as someone said the PC. So those all combined probably made up the 35 million sales. The bulk of the sales were probably from the ps3, 360 and pc. O and if you count the call of duty sales on the wii, they count too. O yea, again, I think they make Call of duty for the ps2 as well... They basically make it for every system known to man I think?


By archangel2021 on 12/28/2008 2:01:46 AM , Rating: 2
But isn't this about 2008 in mind ? That is what i am aiming at. If it was for economy standpoints, then we could just count sales of who knows how long ago!!! it doesn't matter right? at least according to this article.

in 2008 the only cod game released was world at war. which hasn't sold a significant amount of units compared to other titles or cod4 itself.

I think the 35 million is really a worthless unit based on what the article is referring to. November of last year people didn't really care too much about a recession. ( when cod4 came out )


Laying off
By FXi on 12/26/2008 11:18:32 PM , Rating: 4
An industry is not recession proof if major portions of it are laying off and closing facilities. It may be posting sales gains in a recessionary environment, but if the business forecasts lower sales going forward, and is laying off as proof that it expects those lower sales, then the current quarter results are pleasant, but meaningless in the long term.

Now if they stop throwing jobs out the window and express some confidence that they can keep sales figures sustained into 2009, then you have far more evidence that they can resist recession. As it is, the proof is that they are suffering badly, but had a good holiday season.

Nothing earthshattering.




RE: Laying off
By Alexstarfire on 12/27/2008 4:07:28 PM , Rating: 2
I think they just fired 1000 yes men at EA, that's all.

Only company that probably won't cut any employees is Blizzard. Other than them it'd just be a guess.

No industry is recession proof, unless you want to count things like water utilities and such. Necessities of life are probably the only things that could be recession proof.


RE: Laying off
By afkrotch on 12/27/2008 4:13:59 PM , Rating: 1
I'd say utility companies aren't recession proof. If ppl can't afford to pay utilities, but keep using it, it slowly builds up and could affect the company.

It'd have to be a hell of a lot of ppl though, to all of the sudden, be unable to afford to pay utilities. Certain utilities you can live without. Electricity and gas. You'd want water.


Industry sure is recession proof
By neothe0ne on 12/26/2008 8:57:53 PM , Rating: 2
/looks at Free Radical Design and Factor 5

Oh. Guess it's not so recession proof. Blame what you will, but the combination of the PS3 and the state of the economy is beginning to kill time-tested developers.




By pwnsweet on 12/27/2008 3:15:33 AM , Rating: 2
Hold on, what happened to Factor 5? Did I miss something? Please tell me they still exist! Factor 5 are one of the few great independent game companies in the business.


call of duty
By TheGovernment on 12/27/2008 2:18:10 AM , Rating: 2
that's for ALL of the call of duty games combined for all systems.




RE: call of duty
By archangel2021 on 12/27/2008 4:30:18 AM , Rating: 2
and how is it relevant to
quote:
Video Game Industry Proves Recession Proof Thanks to Sequels
?


Gamers will always be gamers
By cmdrdredd on 12/27/2008 2:59:57 PM , Rating: 2
Gamers will always be gamers and gamers need games. Hence people buying games. It's like the movie industry, people STILL want to go see a movie and you see millions of dollars for some piece of garbage that lasts 2 hours. People need something to do other than listen and/or watch the liberal media day in and day out. Games and Movies offer a way to escape their everyday life for a while.

True gamers won't care about spending $60, to them it's worth it.




RE: Gamers will always be gamers
By afkrotch on 12/27/2008 4:17:22 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
True gamers won't care about spending $60, to them it's worth it.


That or they'll pirate it.

I pirated RA3, as it takes 1-2 weeks for games to reach me. So I order the game, then pirate it a few minutes after ordering it.

For console games, I'm just stuck waiting. Console games run me anywhere from $50 - $100+. I play Japanese games and the Japanese charge a lot for console games.


lol
By rudy on 12/27/2008 6:17:16 PM , Rating: 2
Of course people who do not have jobs need something to do all day.




RE: lol
By Beenthere on 12/28/2008 4:48:54 PM , Rating: 1
With a Trillion dollar spend now - pay later plan, all of those with too much time and no motivation can get a welfare job instead of sitting on their butts and playing video games. Won't that come as a shock to those expecting a free lunch instead of working for money?


The title could be called...
By AdamK47 on 12/28/2008 5:11:10 PM , Rating: 2
The title to the article could also be called "Video Game Industry Proves Recession Proof Thanks to Lack of Originality"




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