December video game retail sales drop 22 percent
NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. retail sales of video games and gaming systems fell 22 percent in December, capping a year of declining sales for the industry.
Research firm NPD Group said Thursday that overall sales fell to $3.21 billion from $4.1 billion in December 2011. NPD estimates that sales of new game hardware, software and accessories account for about half of what consumers spend on gaming.
Sales of video games themselves, excluding PC titles, tumbled 26 percent to $1.54 billion. Sales of hardware - gaming systems such as the Xbox 360 and the Wii U - fell 20 percent to $1.07 billion.
"Call of Duty: Black Ops II" from Activision Blizzard Inc. was December's top game.
For all of 2012, total game sales dropped 22 percent to $13.26 billion.
Research firm NPD Group said Thursday that overall sales fell to $3.21 billion from $4.1 billion in December 2011. NPD estimates that sales of new game hardware, software and accessories account for about half of what consumers spend on gaming.
Sales of video games themselves, excluding PC titles, tumbled 26 percent to $1.54 billion. Sales of hardware - gaming systems such as the Xbox 360 and the Wii U - fell 20 percent to $1.07 billion.
"Call of Duty: Black Ops II" from Activision Blizzard Inc. was December's top game.
For all of 2012, total game sales dropped 22 percent to $13.26 billion.
Current consoles are incredibly outdated. I am playing on the PC these days, until next gen consoles come out.
With short playability, no repeatability, draconian DRM, rehashed games with old spoties but new price points and having to pay to play online (XBOX), no wonder.
Â
Why deal with all of that crap when you can buy a single MMO computer game once and have virtually infinite playability. Or maybe, I dunno, go outside?
Â
Console games are getting played out. It's not new it has happened twice before. Once in the early 80's and once in the early 90's.
The game industry will contract, there will be winners and losers (mostly losers), then a new player will rise up and re-invigorate the industry in about 4-5 years.
Â
@Repoman Also, at least one of the top games being played is cheap and fairly old - Minecraft, on both PC and XBox. It beat out Halo 4 on the weekly play chart for the XBox which displays the type of apathy towards lack of replayability that you mention.