Market research firm IDC has said today that the end of the PC-centric era is near, with tablet and smartphone shipments set to overtake PC shipments in 2012.
IDC makes sure to note, however, that PC sales will continue to increase, as well, just at a much slower rate than gadgets that rely on touchscreen and apps.
Worldwide shipments of “app-enabled devices” will reach 377 million in 2011, and 462 million shipments in 2012, exceeding PCs which are expected to ship 402 million in 2011 and 448 million in 2012.
Frank Gens, chief analyst at IDC says tablets and smartphones are “not replacing the PC — that’s a key point — but [they are] expanding the market.”
Overall, global IT spending will jump 5.7 percent to $1.6 trillion in 2011.
Result for: market research firm
According to the latest figures from market research firm NPD Group, U.S. videogame industry sales took a dive in August, falling 10 percent year-on-year (YoY).
Overall sales fell to $819 million USD, with software revenue collapsing 14 percent and hardware falling 5 percent.
Almost reaching the point of saturation, the Nintendo Wii saw its lowest sales since November 2006, falling 12 percent to just 244,300 units sold for the month.
The perennial hardware leader, the Nintendo DS line, fell 38 percent to 342,700 units sold. DS sales have now fallen in each month since April.
Dead-in-the-water handheld PSP sales dove 43 percent, with Sony selling just 79,400 units for the month.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 rose to the top, seeing 66 percent growth thanks to the release of their updated, slimmed down console. Microsoft sold 356,700 units for the month. The Sony PlayStation 3 saw 7.6 percent growth YoY, selling 226,000 units for the month.
Says Anita Frazier, senior analyst for NPD: “This month reflected the lowest sales for August since 2006. While all categories are down in both dollars and units, the portable portion of the industry is down to a greater extent.”
Result for: market research firm
According to data from market research firm FADE (Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment), Xbox Live Arcade sales in March 2010 were the best ever, with a full 41 percent year-on-year growth from last year.
Revenue topped $10 million USD for the first month ever, and growth was strong from the preceding months, where revenue were under $7 million each month.
Overall, for 2010, revenue has grown by 5 percent year-on-year but if March’s trend continues, expect that number to be much higher.
Analysts have attributed the boost to Microsoft’s “Block Party” promotion, which highlighted a group of games, including the popular Toy Soldiers which brought in $3 million in revenue by itself.
