30°
Submitted by Cyrus365 1480d ago | news

Analyst: US Game Sales to Top $10 Billion in 2008

Tom Ivan of Next-Gen reports that a softening consumer spending environment won't stop annual US software sales exceeding $10 billion for the first time in 2008, says Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets

The analyst forecasts a software sales increase of ten-fifteen percent over 2007, largely driven by rising sales of titles for next generation platforms.

"The estimate excludes the incremental contribution from online, casual, mobile, and advertising revenues, which we believe are key long-term growth and margin drivers for the industry."

According to Sebastian, historically, videogame industry sales are driven by product cycles rather than by consumer spending and GDP growth.

Sebastian lists Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, EA's Army of Two, Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4, LucasArts' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Wii Fit, Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII and Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto IV amongst 2008's key software releases (Final Fantasy XIII, Grand Theft Auto IV, Industry, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Nintendo DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed , Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii, Wii Fit, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, Xbox 360)

Alternative Sources
New stories
30°

Explosion - Resident Evil Revelations Review

1h ago - It was an uneasy start for the 3DS and early adopters might even say that Capcom did a better job... | 3DS
40°

Have Games Become Too Casual?

2h ago - GTANJ writes: "Skyrim is a vast game full of hundreds of quests, NPCs, and locations. It’s a gam... | Industry
40°

One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP is a bad port | Review [NoobFeed]

2h ago - Daav from NoobFeed.com spins around in One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP, the 3DS port. What starts... | 3DS
40°

Why don't more game developers see royalties from their work?

4h ago - ARS - When people talk about the importance of actually spending money on games, rather than reso... | Culture
Ad

Check out our Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review - 9/10

Now - Despite the story slowing down at times, the game is really impressive and a lot of fun to play. | Promoted post
40°

For one Kickstarter employee, Double Fine's project is literally a dream come true

4h ago - GamaSutra - Before it became a reality, Kickstarter community director Cindy Au used to fantasize... | Culture
Related content from friends

GamesRadar

CheatCC

VGChartz