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: video game industry
Ubisoft, the games publisher behind the new “always on” DRM, has disappointed investors this week, reporting an almost 18 percent slide in revenue for the fiscal year.
For the year, the company posted sales of $1.1 billion, and a net loss of $54 million.
The loss was mainly due to increases in R&D, which rose to $376 million, up 36 percent year-on-year.
Ubi says its top selling game was Assassin’s Creed II (which uses the controversial DRM) and moved 9 million units since launch.
Additionally, Ubi saw its market share in North America rise to 6.8 percent from 5.3 percent last fiscal year. Despite the growth, the overall market, which remains in turmoil, has not helped with ongoing sales, concedes CEO Yves Guillemot: “The global economic crisis had a pronounced impact on the video game industry in 2009, which contracted by nearly 10 per cent year-on-year. Ubisoft’s sales were hit particularly hard, falling 18 per cent over the full year despite a stabilisation in the second half of the year, when figures came in on a par with the corresponding period of 2008-09. This overall contraction in sales, combined with additional write-downs recorded for games already launched as well as for upcoming releases, led to a €60 million operating loss.”
Despite significant backlash for their DRM scheme, Guillemot sees a strong 2010-2011 fiscal year: “We forecast a return to profitable growth in 2010-11 with positive cash flow generation, driven by a games line-up that is more closely tailored to growth segments and based on strong franchises.We also expect to see the first concrete results from our investments in on-line games and services. Lastly, the upcoming launches of new consoles, including Natal and Sony Move, should enable us to capitalise on the technology investments that we have undertaken in recent years and re-energize the casual games segment. At the same time, we will continue to reorganize our studios and enhance our development teams’ productivity.”
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Result for: video game industry
Sony has announced that it will debut a new reality series, via the PlayStation Network, beginning later this month dubbed The Tester, in which 11 contestants compete in challenges to win the position of game tester at Sony America.
The show will be available for free to download.
The full press release:
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced it will debut the original competition reality series, The Tester, on PlayStation®Network for free download starting February 18, 2010. In the unique series, 11 hopeful gamers from across the country will compete in grueling physical and mental challenges to win a position as a game tester at SCEA and a $5,000 signing bonus, all under the scrutiny of a panel of judges, including actor/comedian and diehard gamer Hal Sparks. With the launch of The Tester, available for digital download only on PlayStation®3 (PS3™) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) entertainment systems, SCEA further expands the current library of original and exclusive content on PlayStation Network.
To create The Tester, SCEA teamed up with 51 Minds, the dynamic production company that is the force behind hit series such as The Surreal Life, Rock of Love, For the Love of Ray J, and many more popular TV shows. The Tester will follow contestants over eight episodes as emotions run high, alliances form and they battle with brain and brawn. While donning giant slingshots, paintball guns, and human hamster balls, contestants will be put to the test in a series of elimination challenges shaped around the skills necessary to be a game tester, including dexterity, communication skills and mental prowess. Cast members range in age from 22 – 36 years-old and stem from all walks of life — from a student, to a paramedic, to a used car salesman.
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