2008 Sets a Record Year for Videogames

kevcothirtythree | January 07, 2009 | News | PC Playstation 2 Company Misc

Electronic Theatre details the UK's videogame market growth throughout 2008 based on figures supplied by ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association).

Sales of videogames hit an all-time high in 2008, according to ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) which today revealed annual sales figures from GFK Chart-Track. Total sales of all videogame software and hardware amounted to £4.034 billion. There was a huge increase in games sales in 2008, with growth of 23 percent on figures for 2007. The market has now more than doubled over the last five years. The increasing popularity of videogames took total sales to £1.905 billion, compared to £1.552 billion in 2007. Hardware sales have been equally spectacular.

News Story attached to:

5 comments | go to source (www.electronictheatre.co.uk) | Add to favorites!

favourite this article |

send to friend |

add alt source

93	Namco Bandai's top 10 selling games of the 2008/2009 fiscal year (7) May 16, 2009
48	Guitar Hero Sets Three New World Records (1) June 10, 2009
73	Introversion Staff Says 2008 Was a Disasterous Year, "Microsoft were pissing us off" (0) April 30, 2009
35	New Counter-Strike World Record (0) July 3, 2009
52	MCM Expo Cosplay Record Attempt (0) April 28, 2009

Comments

0 thumbs!
xxxRockerxxx | January 07, 2009

It's great seeing the industry just get bigger.
0 thumbs!
Shiny Mew | January 07, 2009

Wonder what 2009 will hold.
0 thumbs!
tallteen86 | January 08, 2009

I'm getting a kind of "WTF?" mindset now.

OK, so supposedly this is a record year for the gaming industry...So why do we keep seeing financial woes (stock value dropping, layoffs, studios closing, etc) on the part of developers/publishers? Especially the bigger developers....

Is it just the market is so saturated with video game software and hardware, it can't help but grow, financially, at the same time as having the companies themselves posting decreased profits in relation to previous years?
0 thumbs!
kevcothirtythree | January 08, 2009

I think it's more to do with a media-generated crisis. The average 20-something gamer with no kids isn't really too much worse-off than last year, but isn't spending because the press are telling them they are. Then, retail chains have to cut prices to attract footfall, which in-turn means larger chains will bargain with publishers for better prices. Effectively, I'm fairly sure that, taking Ubisoft as an example, HMV may have bought 100,000 copies of Assassin's Creed at launch, but they probably paid the same for 120,000 copies of Prince of Persia, meaning that while sales reports may be high, publishers and developers are actually making less for each unit sold...

I think that makes sense... Let me know if not and I'll have another stab at explaining it!
0 thumbs!
tallteen86 | January 09, 2009

I see, but still, that can't be the only reason. If sales are in fact up, then it would work out to be at leat close to the same as before. Maybe a bit less, but nothugely (like 10%+ less)