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