Not even November can save U.S. game retail now

Gamasutra- Last week the NPD Group released its latest estimates for the retail video game market in the United States, and for yet another month both hardware and software sales were down. For those who watch the market, this came as practically no surprise, but it was still disappointing.

In the 44 months since February 2009, when this long term contraction began, the retail software market has shown year-over-year growth in only seven of them. The last month of growth was a year ago, in November 2011.

[Da Ill One]

if GTA V dropped it would be saved

[EVILDEAD360]

LOL..the November NPD numbers for the actual month of November numbers won't come until December.

The NPD numbers released in November cover the retail month of October.

Evil

[chasegarcia]

Prices in general are to high. We still have $300 consoles & $60 incomplete software. Classic game prices are also crazy. I am not surprised at all.

[jimbobwahey]

Yup. People think it's the lack of new hardware but in reality it's a very tough economy coupled with the greed of the industry. If they lowered the price of consoles and games they'd see more sales, but since people can't afford it they're being extremely picky and publishers have nobody to blame but themselves.

Whereas people might check out more games if they were cheaper and money wasn't so tight, now they're saving money for the absolute biggest blockbusters like Black Ops 2 and nothing else.

[princejb134]

i been so picky in buying games
for the past few months or past year i usually wait till the game drops below $40 before i purchase and i must really want that game
if i only have slight interest in the game i dont even bother

i remember 3 to 4 years back i would buy over 20 games in a year
now i purchase about 5 games a year

[scotchmouth]

A lot of times we arent getting the best product first. If you wait you get price drops and patches.

Gamers have been learning that it pays to play the waiting game

[-MD-]

Like scotchmouth just said, if you can handle not having a game day 1 then you're much better off, day 1 owners usually have to deal with tons of network issues, bugs, glitches and a full price when you could simply wait a month or two, get the game 50% off and have most of the bugs worked out by then.

[jivah]

Greed of the industry? Tell me more on how phones cost more than double a ps3 and people get those things like they change their underwear. Im gunna buy it ! or whatever other phone. Oh noooo ps3 300bucks im soooo broke :( and 2 weeks later oh a new iphone?! first on line!

[admiralvic]

Prices are only high if you don't look for a deal. You could have easily just preordered Borderlands 2, Black Ops 2, Assassins Creed 3, Biohazard 6 and more at BB and got 20 back in RZ cert cash. That basically lowers the cost of that game to 40 or allows you to save 20 on a future purchase. No matter how you look at it though, thats enough of a savings to get the game + online pass for $70 without even trying.

[MRMagoo123]

LMAO prices are high in the US huh ?! try buying games at retail in Australia, our money is worth more than the $US yet we pay on average $80 to $90 per game thats a $20 to $30 diff minimum some games get to $100, if we where paying the same as the US we would get games for $45 to $58 $AUS. We get ripped off in pretty much everything.

[Theangrybogan]

Why are people disagreeing? That's how it is.

[MadMax]

Yea, i really feel for you guys out there. That is just outrageous! You should try buying your games from ebay or amazon out here from U.S sellers. I have shipped and sold games to quite a few people overseas.

Get better deals! With the cost of living out here in Los Angeles and no jobs with a shitty economy and worthless President who keeps raising taxes on us all, we are getting hit hard in other ways.

[SilentNegotiator]

@angry

We're disagreeing because Magoo speaks as if insane prices in his country diminishes the fact that prices are also high in the US.

[Conzul]

Yeah well Aussie has a superior economical state to the US. Blame that on that.

[DrDeath]

Taxes for americans? you guys dont have free healthcare how could your taxes be high? Canadians pay alot more tax than americans. but we get our healthcare so its a give and take.

[TiberusX87]

JB Hi-Fi are now selling most new releases for $69.00 - $79.00.

Otherwise there is http://ozgameshop.com/ - all games are $60AUD or less and come with free shipping. The site ALSO services the US.

You have to remember that we have a stronger currency at the moment and our annual wages are higher than the US too. (on average)

I can deal with $69.00 just fine. Better than the $119.00 RRP at the beginning of the Generation! :)

[MRMagoo123]

Heres an update for you for all the ppl not from Australia, try to guess how much eb games are selling blackops 2 for lol .............................. ...$110

[Jihaad_cpt]

So you think that they are greedy it cost more money to make better games. Do you think that games should be excluded from inflation, everything cost more, hence why people that work for developers need to get paid more hence why they increase price. You people sound typical and entitled.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Nothing about this years sales figure surprises me. Many people are now in wait mode for next generation hardware. Plus with economics as they are people's wallets finally are not able to continue the crazy path they did last year in Oct - Dec. The first half of 2013 will be a repeat of 2012 for sure.

[josephayal]

It's amazingly optimistic to think the next generation of consoles will be the last

[chasegarcia]

-

[jjb1981]

Whateva

[gobluesamg]

Yeah I'm sorry but I'm just not willing to pay $60 for a new game anymore when they're going to just try and sell me DLC that should have been on the disc. The last game I paid full retail for was Infamous 2. My backlog is still long and I almost never pay more than $20 for a game. I just bought Max Payne 3 for $18 from Gamefly and traded it in to Amazon for $20 credit after I played it. GTA V will be a day one for me though. Most new games that aren't AAA titles should be $30 - $40 and they would sell much better.

[Cam977]

I have stopped paying full price on games too. It just isn't worth it! For example, this year all if my games have been reduced due to age - not bought at launch. In doing so, I have saved lots of money for more games.

[Campy da Camper]

Same here with the Infamous 2 game! I know for a fact that Infamous is worth 60 bones. The only games coming up that I plan on buying is The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite.

[GraveLord]

It's all because of the Wii. It was a monster....it surely isn't going out with a bang, its going out with a whimper.

PS3 and 360 are still too expensive to keep the industry from declining YoY. Microsoft is too greedy to do a much needed price drop on its system, Sony can't afford one.

Great article BTW!

[Deku-Johnny]

Why are people surprised that console sales have declined so much over the past few years? They've been around 6/7 years. Anyone who wants a Wii/PS3/360 has one already. Bring something new to the table and people will buy it.

[JBSleek]

Once and for all economy has nothing to do with this at all. If that is the case why are people willing to spend hundreds of dollars on tablets, phones, and expensive TV's. Those prices haven't lowered the numbers increase every year.

Economics is a moot thing to say. And saying $300 for a console is too much then it seems to me next generation is gonna be in bad shape.

Of course it may have something to do with this generation being 6/7 years long and people who have bought a console likely already has one and with all these rumors swirling around of the next generation why would I buy a console now?

Also digital is slowly making it's way to being a standard. It is basically there on PC yet console adoption is slower because have this weird fetish with retail boxes and actually feeling the game instead of actually playing it.

[Hassassin]

I have that fetish.... mmmmm plastic boxes :3

[Hicken]

The economy has a LOT to do with it, actually. I'm definitely spending a lot less on games than I was even three years ago, and I know I'm not alone. People spend money on tablets and such because they are necessary parts of life, more necessary than a gaming console, at least; TVs, too. I mean, what good is your Wii without a TV to use it on?

If a current gen console is $300, it can be argued that it's too much money. Not the same situation for a next gen system, which is a brand new device. To be sure, some of it may have to do with people having made their gaming purchases(system-wise, anyway) for this generation already, but that's not the only reason, nor is it a PRIMARY reason, in my eyes.

You ARE correct, however, about digital becoming more prominent. But the console gamer's love for physical isn't based simply on some "weird fetish." It's about a sense of ownership, and a reluctance to give up the rights of ownership by "possessing" a phantom copy of a game whose right to play could be revoked at any time. It's about the ability to play games without internet service. It's about being able to sell or trade away old games you no longer want to play.

[deletingthis34675334]

I have been buying several games each month until this year. This is the first year in my entire gaming career that I have skipped entire months on buying video games. Not only because the prices are high but also because most games just...suck. Most games nowadays is a shooter and many other genres have shrunk down to almost nothing. Best part of them is, most of them are the same. They are 8 hours or shorter, with checkpoints and regenerative health that holds your hand through the most "challenging" parts, then they slap on an unoriginal repetitive multiplayer with the exact same game modes from the 31596 other shooters on the market. Games are in the same toilet movies went down 10 years ago.

[StrawHatPatriot]

Eh, I think Sony and Microsoft (especially Sony) focused too much on the graphics and trying to be epic, that's why the PlayStation 3 costed $499, $599, etc. They should have had the update the PSOne to PS2 had. It's to a point in which, they should have just made a dedicated device, dedicated to bringing the best gaming experience possible, like the Gamecube, with its wireless controller, comfortable controller, affordable hardware, good graphics, etc.

[Flewid638]

Yeah......Sony and MS should have just done what Nintendo did with the GameCube. Look how great that turned out!!!!!!

-sarcasm-

[StrawHatPatriot]

The only reason the GameCube didn't sell is that it looked too much like a toy.

Look how the Wii turned out?

[Flewid638]

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhht....

Thats the OONLY reason GameCube didnt sell well. It looked too much like a toy. There were sooooooo many games on it that you couldnt find on other systems.

But....no one knew cuz, well, it looked like a toy.
Riiiiiiiiighhhhtt....

[StrawHatPatriot]

Well yes, the exterior hardware design and games released early on, lack of DVD along with the lack of any online games shifted away some of the older audience that bought the PS2 or Xbox instead.

[DivineAssault]

Nothing is in any damn trouble... Its only that shooter & casual players have grown so damn huge that 20k or so sales just seem terrible these days.. Xbox has spawened a new breed of gamer which a lot of em dont even play their games campaign, just the multiplayer & if it were an option to buy the multiplayer only disc, im sure A LOT of ppl would..

Not all xbox fans are like that cuz i like fable, lost odyssey, witcher 2, skyrim, etc on there like a lot of real gamers but there are a good chunk of ppl who only play the multiplayer portions & wont touch anything else.. Nintendo had tons of success with everyone from casuals & kids to some core gamers buying wii.. So its not necessarily dying or in trouble, just vastly different demographics now

[Captain Tuttle]

Much of the decline can be attributed to the Wii and the DS dropping of dramatically, those things were beasts. The 360 just needs a price cut, 50 bucks in three or four years doesn't cut it. The PS3 has been doing poorly in the US compared to the rest of the world this whole gen, not sure what they can do to fix it short of a huge price cut they can't afford. Vita is dead as a doornail.

We just need new consoles.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Doom and gloom.

Xbox 360 and Nintendo 3DS did very well, as did all the top 10 games in this months npd.

And as everyone with half a brain knows npd only covers roughly %60 of the total market. So if you're basing your opinions on that info or any of the bullshit agenda ridden hyperbole from places like NeoGAF or vgcharts then you are very uninformed and a bit of a fool.