Money Matters, Simplified.
Video game sales plunge 8% in 2009; MW 2 higgest grosser
by Jaspreet Virk - February 4, 2010 - comments
Despite being released in November 2009, the latest game from the Infinity Ward broke all entertainment records and was the highest grosser of the year. The game sold 11.86 million units in the three major markets--the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
New York, February 4 -- It was indeed a tough year for the video game industry. As per the data released by Top Global Markets, the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom witnessed an 8 percent fall in video game sales in the year 2009.
The Top Global Markets report, which has been compiled by the NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track, and Enterbrain, states that the sales have fallen across all categories, which include hardware, software, and accessories.
The game sales totaled only 379.3 million units last year. 2009 was the year that saw both the highest number of titles released and the lowest number of sales since 2005.
PlayStation 2 sales fall drastically
The biggest reason for fall in sales is that consumer interest is increasingly eroding in PlayStation (PS) 2 games.
Across all the three countries, PS 2 was worst affected. The gaming platform recorded 57 percent drop in sales in 2009.
Among all the markets, UK was the worst affected, reporting 14 percent plunge in sales. The PS2 purchases decreased 67 percent in the country.
The United States recorded seven percent drop in software sales, followed by Japan, which was least affected. It witnessed two percent fall in software sales and hardware sales plummeted five percent in the country.
Modern Warfare 20—the top seller of 2009
Though the video game industry went through a difficult year, Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (MW) 2 registered strong sales.
It seems that MW 2 was insulated from recessionary trends that had otherwise weighed heavy on consumer demand.
Despite being released in November 2009, the latest game from the Infinity Ward broke all entertainment records and was the highest grosser of the year. The game sold 11.86 million units in the three markets.
Other top seller
Apart from MW 2, game titles by Nintendo dominated the best seller list. Nintendo Wii Sports Resort was the second highest grosser, registering sales of 7.57 million units.
It was followed by New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii FitPlus, and Wii Fit, which sold 7.41 million, 5.80 million 5.44 million units respectively.
Even hardware by Nintendo, like DS and DS Lite, did well in the market. Nintendo DS was the best selling console in UK last year, selling 10.5 million units in a country of 61 million people.