Video Game Industry Closes 2008 with $22 Billion in Sales
Market research firm NPD Group revealed late last month that overall computer and video game industry hardware, software and peripheral sales topped $22 billion in 2008. Entertainment software sales, in particular, grew 22.9 percent over the previous year to account for $11.7 billion of the industry's total. The industry also set the new record on the strength of a December sales month in which industry revenue ($5.3 billion) topped $5 billion for the first time in any single month. By comparison, as recently as 1997, the industry generated $5.1 billion over the entire year.
"The $11.7 billion in software sales generated in 2008 is more than total industry revenues were in 2005, but even with the strong market growth of the gaming industry over the past few years, what we are seeing is an accumulation of more sales by a select group of titles," said NPD Group industry analyst Anita Frazier. "In 2005, when the current console generation began to be introduced, the top 20 games of the year accounted for 9 percent of total unit sales. Today, the top 20 account for 15 percent of total unit sales."
The NPD Group's data showed that, in 2008, total U.S. video game console software sales reached $8.9 billion (189.0 million units), PC game sales hit $701.4 million (29.1 million units), and portable software topped last year's record sales with $2.1 billion (79.5 million units) in revenue. Overall, retailers sold approximately 297.6 million computer and video games last year.
In 2008, family-friendly video games once again dominated the market, with games that the Entertainment Software Rating Board rated "Everyone 10+" and lower accounting for over half of all sales. Games rated "T" for "Teen," meanwhile, accounted for 26.7 percent of all sales, while "Mature (M)" games made up only 15.9 percent of the market. Underscoring the trend, the "Family Entertainment" video game category again finished the year as the most popular game genre, with more than 19 percent of all sales.
Downloadable Content: Video Games' Fountain of Youth
Among the newest distribution trends in the computer and video game industry, downloadable content (DLC) has gained significant attention lately in both the PC and console market. Shortly after the introduction of the Xbox system, Microsoft became the first video game publisher to successfully offer extra content for its products via the Internet. Today, DLC is a fixture in the gaming industry, as game publishers seek different ways to encourage players to spend more time with their titles.
Gamers have taken full advantage of this technology's benefits, accessing new content, including episodes, characters, and level maps. On February 17th, Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, will release Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned - the first of two announced episodes of downloadable content that will be available exclusively for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned features a new main character and plot that intersects with the storyline of Grand Theft Auto IV (the blockbuster video game of 2008), and all-new missions, multiplayer modes, weapons, vehicles and in-game music.
Another popular game taking advantage of the DLC demand is Rock Band, which offers DLC Track Packs, featuring new music content. To date, over seven million copies of Rock Band titles have been sold and over 30 million songs have been downloaded. In addition, every copy of Microsoft's second installment in the Gears of War franchise included a code to download the Flashback Map Pack, a set of five enhanced maps from the original game.
With access to broadband internet Increasing and hard drive capacities set to grow, DLC opportunities likely will expand in the years to come. Through downloadable updates and expansions, gamers and developers alike will extend the life of video games.
ESA Partners with Microsoft and Others to Get Game Smart
Last month, Microsoft, with support from a wide variety of organizations, including Best Buy, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, and the Entertainment Software Association, announced the availability of Get Game Smart, a new safety education resource to help parents and kids together manage their video game use.
The Get Game Smart program is a brand new approach to engaging parents and their children about responsible video game use and ways to help families enjoy a healthy, balanced approach to games. The focus of the program revolves around its Web site, GetGameSmart.com, which serves as an interactive hub for information and shared dialogue.
The Web site will host a contest in which families can submit videos of their own approach to maintaining a responsible digital lifestyle. ESA president and CEO Mike Gallagher will be part of a judging panel that will select finalists among the submissions, which will then be voted on by users of GetGameSmart.com. Microsoft hopes that the contest will inspire many families to think hard about their own approach to their gaming lifestyle and encourage them to share with their peers some of the most effective ideas and tactics.
Another unique element of the effort is that parents and kids are incentivized to take action. They can win Best Buy prizes by completing a variety of online and offline tasks that will help ensure that their families are using media in ways that are healthier, safer and more balanced.
Toward that end, the initiative's Web site features a variety of information on issues like cyberbullying and screen time limits from Get Game Smart partners including Web Wise Kids, StaySafeOnline.org and WiredSafety.org. There are also separate safety sections for parents and children; and the parent section includes a blog that covers the latest trends in gaming safety. |
