Report: Console Sales in Slo-Mo
Report: Console Sales in Slo-Mo
July 5, 2008
Sales of new console systems have slowed, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury-News.
While 25 million Wii's, PlayStation 3's and Xbox 360's have been sold in the U.S. over the past 30 months, it seems that most of the buyers are upgrading from older systems or adding a second, or even third, game system. Console-less homes are mostly remaining that way. Said David Klein of Los Angeles-based research firm Centris:
We're looking at very slow growth.
What does this mean for the game biz? It's not good news, writes reporter Mike Antonucci:
The implications for the game industry, whose challenges include rising development costs, are sweeping. An expansion of the game audience offers continued revenue growth, or at least a hedge against a spending slowdown by existing fans...
[But] ...word-of-mouth enthusiasm [for this generation of consoles] may not be translating into much real expansion...
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Posted 10/06/08 at 07:06pm
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of: @Dark Sovereign: Read "Countdown to JT's Disbarment"
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of: @Dark Sovereign: Read "Countdown to JT's Disbarment"
Posted 10/06/08 at 07:00pm
Dark Sovereign: @Shadow: Say what now?
Dark Sovereign: @Shadow: Say what now?
Posted 10/06/08 at 06:37pm
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of: Hey, EZK! I saw what you did there! Great job!
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of: Hey, EZK! I saw what you did there! Great job!
Posted 10/06/08 at 06:28pm
Dark Sovereign: Just noticed: Nikko asks Michelle to go for "hot coffee". Michelle says people get hurt and end up in court.
Dark Sovereign: Just noticed: Nikko asks Michelle to go for "hot coffee". Michelle says people get hurt and end up in court.
Posted 10/06/08 at 05:22pm
gamepolitics: If you registered but did not get ur validation email, contact me: dennisATgamepolitics.com I can fix that
gamepolitics: If you registered but did not get ur validation email, contact me: dennisATgamepolitics.com I can fix that
Posted 10/06/08 at 04:04pm
Austin_Lewis: well, what with the article about the protests recently, I think its interesting they're opening a large 'center' in a mall.
Austin_Lewis: well, what with the article about the protests recently, I think its interesting they're opening a large 'center' in a mall.
Posted 10/06/08 at 12:52pm
BlackIce: @Austin Lewis: Any specific parts?
BlackIce: @Austin Lewis: Any specific parts?
Posted 10/06/08 at 12:41pm
Austin_Lewis: OI, GAMEPOLITICS! Just got this emailed to me, thought you'd like to hop in on it: http://www.thearmyexperience.com
Austin_Lewis: OI, GAMEPOLITICS! Just got this emailed to me, thought you'd like to hop in on it: http://www.thearmyexperience.com
Posted 10/06/08 at 12:21pm
NovaBlack: oops i meant 'unbanned' in uk
NovaBlack: oops i meant 'unbanned' in uk
Posted 10/06/08 at 12:21pm
NovaBlack: BBFC lose the appeal to.. revoke ..original ..appeal. manhunt 2 bannd in uk. what a buunch of timewasters.
NovaBlack: BBFC lose the appeal to.. revoke ..original ..appeal. manhunt 2 bannd in uk. what a buunch of timewasters.
Posted 10/06/08 at 12:20pm
NovaBlack: @gp http://kotaku.com/5059455/uk-manhunt-2-+-the-long-struggle-is-at-an-end
NovaBlack: @gp http://kotaku.com/5059455/uk-manhunt-2-+-the-long-struggle-is-at-an-end
Posted 10/06/08 at 08:43am
Paulrus: 1up.com just reported that MadWorld may not seee release in "censor-heavy" countries like Australia, Germany, and even Japan. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170362
Paulrus: 1up.com just reported that MadWorld may not seee release in "censor-heavy" countries like Australia, Germany, and even Japan. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170362
Posted 10/06/08 at 07:28am
Austin_Lewis: they're all about a month old, but if they do it again, I'll be sure to post the link here
Austin_Lewis: they're all about a month old, but if they do it again, I'll be sure to post the link here
Posted 10/06/08 at 06:41am
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Hold up, Austin. Can we have the link to that Yahoo! Story?
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Hold up, Austin. Can we have the link to that Yahoo! Story?
Posted 10/06/08 at 12:26am
Austin_Lewis: I've been reading on yahoo things I read on here three days earlier, nearly word for word. I've insulted the writers, too.
Austin_Lewis: I've been reading on yahoo things I read on here three days earlier, nearly word for word. I've insulted the writers, too.
Posted 10/05/08 at 09:29pm
PHOENIXZERO: @Austin_Lewis Just watched the video, I like how they mention Australia banning violent games and then show a list of games that includes some that weren't violent. <_< Think they could have given GP a little more credit too.
PHOENIXZERO: @Austin_Lewis Just watched the video, I like how they mention Australia banning violent games and then show a list of games that includes some that weren't violent. <_< Think they could have given GP a little more credit too.
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:52pm
gamepolitics: Plus, with Yahoo's huge traffic, if they want to steer some peeps to GP I'm okay with that, too! ;-)
gamepolitics: Plus, with Yahoo's huge traffic, if they want to steer some peeps to GP I'm okay with that, too! ;-)
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:51pm
gamepolitics: thx, Austin, but it seems to be more along the lines of fair use.
gamepolitics: thx, Austin, but it seems to be more along the lines of fair use.
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:16pm
Austin_Lewis: My link is to yahoo's playback or whatever they're calling it, which nearly always shows a gamepolitics article and seems to
Austin_Lewis: My link is to yahoo's playback or whatever they're calling it, which nearly always shows a gamepolitics article and seems to
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:15pm
Austin_Lewis: plagarize Gamepolitics' works and use his site, maybe without his permission. I just felt he ought be informed of it.
Austin_Lewis: plagarize Gamepolitics' works and use his site, maybe without his permission. I just felt he ought be informed of it.
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
I, for one, welcome our new robot mast- I mean, hope this knocks a little sense into the industry. These costs don't have to be so high, 128-bit graphics worked just fine.
Just do the friggin' merger thing where there's one format and just different consoles to play it in. It's gotta happen eventually, so why not just do it. More money in your pockets, better gaming for us (there will be room for way more creativity when you don't have to worry about which console to put a game on to make the most money). All of this was outlined in an issue of OXM.
-If shit and bricks were candy and tits, we'd all be livin' large. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard Medical School researchers Larry Kutner and Cheryl Olson
Aaand with that you're looking at having to, for consoles, force standards, which STILL will end up with games being incompatible with this or that console (because of course Sony and M$ won't share to eachother their most prized design secrets).
In other words, pretty much turning consoles into PC's.
Actually the way it was sounding was more like DVDs. It's in an OXM article by Geoff Keigly(did I spell his name right?) If I can find the issue I'll go ahead and put the text up here so you can see what he was talking about.
-If shit and bricks were candy and tits, we'd all be livin' large. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard Medical School researchers Larry Kutner and Cheryl Olson
This idea already exists, and it's known as a "PC gaming."
Not surprising at all considering the state of the economy. More people are interesting in keeping their homes and putting gas in their vehicles. Console manufacturers didn't prepare to market their consoles to a consumer in such an economic slump. Besides the spiffy new graphics don't really mean much when you don't have a new HDTV to watch them on (Unless you're talking about the WII in which case this agruement applies less).
I agree. A game console is a luxury purchase, and if it comes down to a PS3, Xbox, groceries, or mortgage payment, guess what gets dumped off the list?
Which was also one of the reasons I thought launching the PS3 for $600 was really stupid. A pre-9/11 $300 launch during a stock market bubble versus a $600 launch when the economy is in a slump. Did Sony not try to look at the big picture when producing these things?
Honestly, it doesn't take a genius to figure out someone who isn't already a gamer isn't going to spend hundreds of dollars to try out a new hobby they might not even like.
Video Games are sort of like comic books nowadays, they have a set audience and not many new folks are going to get into it at once.
Really I think that is the biggest problem, the point of entry into what I guess would be "hardcore" console gaming has become really expensive. It's not only the consoles anymore either, the prices of the games themselves are probably turning people away. Alot of people are playing casual games on their computers but that doesn't really translate into wanting to go and buy a console.
The point of entry has always been a problem, I just wonder if it has become too much of a problem with the current level of complexity that we demand in games, along with the cost, so new people are being kept away.
While I do think in some ways consoles are becoming more similar to PCs, I for the most part have to disagree. Well for one while you can put operating systems on them, they aren't really useful for installing and using applications as you would normally on a PC. Another reason is that you're stuck with the hardware you buy. No upgrading video cards or processors and no adding RAM. I'm a PC gamer because I get more use out of my PC than anyone gets out of a console. I can watch movies, do all my work, play all kinds of games, surf the web, write e-mails, listen to music and basically do whatever I want. While you can do some of this with a console, you can't do it all and you can't do it nearly as quickly as you can on a PC/MAC. In other words I don't see consoles ever matching the usability as a PC/MAC until they actually become a PC/MAC. I don't think that will happen becuase then they would have to open up the hardware to customization and modification.
While PCs are more expensive, I think they are infinitely more useful. As even the most minimally equipped computers become more advanced I think that number of PC gamers will grow. In terms of casual game play you don't even need a great computer. Same applies for flash games.
You can download Yellow Dog Linux for the PS3 through the PS3 network and use your PS3 like a regular PC.
You can already upgrade the hard drive and I can see consoles in the future allowing you to upgrade RAM etc (you already could with the N64)
hah you guys got it easy
im trying to get a ps3 and in mexico the 40 gigs one costs 700 american dollars
its infuriating considering the msg one costs what? 500 600?
It's because the summer is filled with nothing but crap on the consoles. All the GOOD games come out around Christmas.
About a year ago I had a choice of going with a 360 or upgrading my PC I went with my PC because the 360is a broken mess but besides that games has become generic pablum for the mases...where the detail in quality or control...the mass market mentality to push out cookie cuter games is whats killing it for me....
I is fuzzy brained mew =^^=
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
(in need of a bad overhaul)
I don't see any surprise here.
1. Recession + Gas Prices
2. It's Summer. People are doing other stuff
3. These systems have been out for about two years, give or take. Chances are most people who's getting them have gotten them already. (not me, i'm still waiting to get a PS3, but whatever)
most of us are waiting for them to climb off their high horses and drop the price below the realm of "Are you stupid" expensive. I'm not paying like 500 dollars for a system I only paid like 300 for my Wii >_>
Seems reasonable that I not rip my right arm off to get a console ya know >_> most of mine I tend to unfortunately aquire as the new systems are coming out and the retailers are desperate to sell...would be nice if I didn't have to wait that long all the time >_>
The PS3 is 399 the 360 is about 299, the trouble is both are about 100 over what i would pay for them and that includes the WII with its family focused party games... the 7th generation has nothing but stale canned games that do not make it for 400-500$ for a system and 3 games......
I is fuzzy brained mew =^^=
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
(in need of a bad overhaul)
The prices you mentioned for the PS3 and 360 are for the crappy versions. Bump those prices up by 50-100 bucks for the ones worth having.
You know, there are so many games already out there... it may be harder to feel compelled to buy new ones when I can go back to killing Red Slimes in Dragon Warrior for free. That's what I'm doing today!
Exactly. I am still catching up on games from 3-10 years ago. I don't have time and money to play what is coming out tomorrow.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
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Yes! I thought I was the only one replaying older games.
I just finished Chrono Trigger for the first time, and I have to say its easily one of my favorite games of all time!!!
Now that Im finished with Chrono Trigger, I can move on to Xenogears!
By the way, awesome classics like these arent that expensive (except Xenogears which is about 70 dollars!), there usually only around 20 (which is what I payed for CT).
The skyrocketing costs of A-budget titles for "hardcore" gamers might be part of the reason of slowing sales. People are just not taking as many risks with original titles anymore. All the most anticipated games are in sequel-itis. While the number of actual commercial games released has increased somewhat over the last two years, an increasingly large percentage of those are casual games and downloadable games.
Consoles are not selling well anymore, and yet no one can find a wii =p
Though seriously... i for one still get nearly all the enjoyment i need out of my over 7 years old, launch day, PS2... And most of that potential comes from older games that i have yet to get around to playing...
And then there's my new computer which will satisfy most new-gen temptations seeing as so many of the 360 and multiplatform games come out for PC anyway... ya, i kinda want one, but i'm getting along just fine for now
They can't find a wii 'cause Nintendo can't figure out how to make them. And will you continue to spend hundreds of dollars a year upgrading your PC?
That's a ridiculous myth, the "You can't keep up with a PC" myth. If you bought a state of the art PC the same month as your XBOX, you'd have an Athlon XP 1800+, which is fine for gaming today. All you'd need to be able to keep playing is a new video card, at a rate of about one every 2 years. If we ignore the inital capital cost, and assume you upgraded to the 360 when it came out, you'd be looking at about 500 dollars overall, where you'd spend less than 400 dollars on the video card upgrades for your Athlon XP.
That's assuming you don't take into consideration that there were 4 major consoles in the last generation. If you add together THOSE costs, for a dreamcast, Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube, all at their respective launch dates, then the capital cost for one little PC doesn't seem so bad. Plus, if you look at getting a Wii, an xbox 360, and a playstation 3, then the pittiance you're spending keeping your PC up-to-date seems pretty pathetic.
The PC would have a much higher initial capital cost than a single console, but you'd have better performance over the lifecycle of the machine, and maintenance costs would be rock bottom, a hundred bucks every couple years. If you're looking at more than one console, the economics fly out the window and the PC is much more economical for playing way more games.
I should amend. I mean a new BUDGET video card. You don't need the latest and greatest if you're planning to run games at reduced detail levels at 640x480 or less like you would be on your xbox.
Well, it should be a no-brainer to everyone that the big reasons that console sales are slow is exactly what a few people have mentioned already... horrible economy, forever rising gas prices and the fact that it's summer. I know quite a few upper-middle class families that are saying that they won't be having a Christmas this year because of gas prices alone. We're fast on our way back to the 18th century if our government doesn't do something quickly.