I read this article on the BBC news website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20638318

This is across all platforms and all game genres.

Interesting points:

- Both hardware and software were down 11% at retailers from November of last year despite major launches such as Assassin's Creed 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

- The rate of decline this November was slower than in previous months because of the big releases, which means that the drop was actually faster for most of this year but is being boosted a little bit by the big releases. There were fewer bigger releases this November as compared to last November.

- These figures do not include digital sales like Steam.

- No MMORPG is on the list of the best-selling games.

I find it *very* interesting that these figures do not include digital sales. More and more people are going that route, especially by Steam. If I were an investor in this industry, I would be very careful with such data.

These heavy-hitting games completely outdo the MMORPG genre as far as numbers go. I am surprised anyone would put money on making a risky venture like an MMO once you see things in that light.

Those games though do better than any film. So why isn't the press making a bigger stink about popular game releases? Films are covered much more even though fewer people indulge in even the blockbusters than in games like Halo and the like.

This article is great for putting some things into perspective.

None of these types of sites contain digital sales, AFAIK. 

On the PC game front, with Origin, Desura, Steam, GOG, GMM, Amazon's digital library (who's sales have rivaled and matched Steam's sales' price for price, at least for NA)  and a few others, these types of places are missing a whole lot of PC game sales figures that they can not take into account.

Sony has also pushed PSN+ harder on the Playstation front, especially with their recent offerings with many free monthly games and discounts to + members. I'm sure a fair few number opted for their discounted digital prices rather than their usual box purchase.

I agree with your assessment that using this type of data to gouge strength can be a bit dubious, as a lot of sales are going uncounted. 

Still, it's been known and predicted for a while that as the future comes, box sales will steadily decline in favor of digital sales. It's just a question of digital sales figures will ever be known or not.

Originally posted by MurlockDance

I read this article on the BBC news website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20638318

This is across all platforms and all game genres.

Interesting points:

- Both hardware and software were down 11% at retailers from November of last year despite major launches such as Assassin's Creed 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

- The rate of decline this November was slower than in previous months because of the big releases, which means that the drop was actually faster for most of this year but is being boosted a little bit by the big releases. There were fewer bigger releases this November as compared to last November.

- These figures do not include digital sales like Steam.

- No MMORPG is on the list of the best-selling games.

 

I find it *very* interesting that these figures do not include digital sales. More and more people are going that route, especially by Steam. If I were an investor in this industry, I would be very careful with such data.

These heavy-hitting games completely outdo the MMORPG genre as far as numbers go. I am surprised anyone would put money on making a risky venture like an MMO once you see things in that light.

Those games though do better than any film. So why isn't the press making a bigger stink about popular game releases? Films are covered much more even though fewer people indulge in even the blockbusters than in games like Halo and the like.

This article is great for putting some things into perspective.

Lol , major releases Assassin's Creed 3 and BO2 , Black ops 2 is a solo type of game , story line is amazing , but the multiplayer is garbage.   Assasin's creed 3 , another over hyped game , the first was best , 2nd was ok , third was too much.    

  People tend to play MMO's because console games like the 2 "major" releases have crappy multiplayer.    Modern warfare 3 , now there's a game that blows out Black ops 2 when it comes to multiplayer , even Borderlands 2 blows out Black ops 2, and games these days are all about multiplayer. The NES/SNES soloplay era are things of the past.

Originally posted by SuprGamerX

Lol , major releases Assassin's Creed 3 and BO2 , Black ops 2 is a solo type of game , story line is amazing , but the multiplayer is garbage.   Assasin's creed 3 , another over hyped game , the first was best , 2nd was ok , third was too much.    

  People tend to play MMO's because console games like the 2 "major" releases have crappy multiplayer.    Modern warfare 3 , now there's a game that blows out Black ops 2 when it comes to multiplayer , even Borderlands 2 blows out Black ops 2, and games these days are all about multiplayer. The NES/SNES soloplay era are things of the past.

I am not quite sure why you posted this in this thread since it is not really relevant to the discussion about the article, but  thanks for posting anyway

@Zymurgeist: I do think the economy is one of the issues, though there is a burdgeoning smaller, indie game industry developing alongside the bigger titles. People seem to be much more willing to part with 6-20 bucks for something than 60 bucks, especially if people tend to beat the smaller games and shelve the AAA title after a few plays. I wonder how much the smaller games industry is nipping into the AAA titles marketshare.

The smaller games are usually download only and are hosted on sites like Steam, Bigfish Games, etc. I doubt that these games are even being taken into consideration here and I am not even talking about tablets or smartphones which we should start thinking about too.

I find this a huge oversight from market analysts that they are only reporting on the big studios.

Originally posted by Kaijin2k3

None of these types of sites contain digital sales, AFAIK. 

On the PC game front, with Origin, Desura, Steam, GOG, GMM, Amazon's digital library (who's sales have rivaled and matched Steam's sales' price for price, at least for NA)  and a few others, these types of places are missing a whole lot of PC game sales figures that they can not take into account.

Sony has also pushed PSN+ harder on the Playstation front, especially with their recent offerings with many free monthly games and discounts to + members. I'm sure a fair few number opted for their discounted digital prices rather than their usual box purchase.

I agree with your assessment that using this type of data to gouge strength can be a bit dubious, as a lot of sales are going uncounted. 

Still, it's been known and predicted for a while that as the future comes, box sales will steadily decline in favor of digital sales. It's just a question of digital sales figures will ever be known or not.

If it is a case of the digital sales being more difficult to report, the sites that host them need to devise ways to report these figures accurately if they haven't already.

I agree with you very much.The digital sales are the future and not just for AAA titles, but also for the smaller games as I mentioned in my previous post.

CoD BOII made 1 billion in 15 days. Highest grossing game ever.

Sure sales are down.

Two words.

Indie Developers.

Why pay 90 dollars for 40 hours of gaming when you can pay 10 dollars for 10 hours.

Originally posted by Magnetia

Two words.

Indie Developers.

Why pay 90 dollars for 40 hours of gaming when you can pay 10 dollars for 10 hours.

I think it depends on what type of games you play. The smaller games tend to be in different genres than the AAA titles, for example hidden object games, arcade games, match 3, etc. So far I have not seen an AAA match 3 game on offer. If I were looking at games to play, I would definitely consider its genre before deciding how much I am willing to spend.

Originally posted by Shadanwolf
The US  and European economies have been in bad shape for years.Spending on a game is discretionary spending.

Absolutely true.

My DVD drive broke a few years back. Back then I realized, I don't really need or want a huge collection of DVDs taking up space when I've got 30mbps net and 1 terabyte storage space for my downloaded stuff.

I don't think the sales of physical games will increase ever again. They have peaked, and more and more purchases are now done digitally.

Originally posted by Shadanwolf
The US  and European economies have been in bad shape for years.Spending on a game is discretionary spending.

Precisely. All the politicians harp on about giving companies tax breaks to 'help the economy'. They must think we are idiots.

Tax breaks just make the companies share holders more money. It's salaries which need to go up.

It's the workforce who inject money into the economy and that can only be done if we have the money to waste on all the junk these companies produce.

Pay rises for the common working man is the only way to fix the economy.

Originally posted by ElgarL

Precisely. All the politicians harp on about giving companies tax breaks to 'help the economy'. They must think we are idiots.

Tax breaks just make the companies share holders more money. It's salaries which need to go up.

It's the workforce who inject money into the economy and that can only be done if we have the money to waste on all the junk these companies produce.

Pay rises for the common working man is the only way to fix the economy.

That is the basis of Keynesian economics: give people decent wages in order to spend which helps boost the economy. All of the decisions that have been made since 2007 run counter to that.