Video games grow 28.4% in the US in 2007
Video games are the entertainment stars of 2007 as their software side of the business sold $9.5 billion in the US, an amount similar to what was spent for movies and music. The bad news -at least for me- is that PC games account for only 9.5% of sales. Whether piracy or less interest in PC gaming is responsible for this disappointing result is hard to say, sales show that consoles are dominant since their hardware side sold a healthy $9.35 million. The surprise? It is the Wii which has smashed competition from both Microsoft and Sony. Just look at unit sales:
-
Wii: 6.29 million units, far ahead of everyone else.
-
Xbox 360: 4.62 million, far ahead of the PS3.
-
PS2: 3.97 million units, still going quite strong!
-
PS3: 2.56 million units, a figure that I doubt makes Sony satisfied.
The Wii proves that technological complexity does not necessarily mean more sales in a video game market that needs new fun ideas. The Wii’s innovative conrols have attracted customers that were never interested in video games before. If you add in the picture the stunning sales volume of 8.5 million DS handhelds, it is clear that Nintendo knows a thing or two about what video gamers want…
I have to say that this year’s growth has been a surprise, as previous years have got us accustomed to anemic increases. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether video games can continue with the same momentum. 2006 and 2007 have been years of many changes because during this time all three console manufacturers introduced new models, while PC gaming has started the slow transition to DirectX 10. 2008 will be definitely more heavily biased towards game titles, an area where the Xbox 360 has been so far unmatched. Now that the HD war is over, PS3’s Blu-ray playback capability is bound to be a plus.
Films have practically stayed unchanged and I suppose it is time for Hollywood to get things in gear to promote digital projection and distribution worldwide. If not, its future might looked like the music industry’s sad state that saw this year yet another decline of 10%…
Link: ars technica
