US retail console video game sales hit their sixth month of decline

Iria

Fans of the video game industry have often pointed out with pride the rocket-like growth of the business, from a couple of crazy guys in California selling PONG in the 1970s to an industry that today almost rivals Hollywood. In 2005, total sales of hardware, software and accessories rose to an all-time high of US$10.5 billion, according to research firm NPD Group.

However, the business has not been without its ups and downs. In 1982, over-saturation of poor quality games (such as a bad port of the arcade version of Pac-Man and the disastrous E.T.) for the Atari game system led to an industry-wide crash. Nintendo revived the industry with the release of their original Entertainment System, but memories of the crash remain even today.

Of course, back then the industry was so new that people didn't understand the cyclical nature of console hardware sales. With each new generation of hardware, sales start off slowly with early adopters paying a higher price to have the latest hardware "first," then there is a period of massive adoption as prices for the consoles fall, and finally sales slump again as people stop buying the aging hardware in anticipation of the next generation.
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Read More / Source: Ars Technica

OmegaRED

Bring out command and conquer: red alert 3 and all will be fixed

YAYitsAndrew

I don't know what else they expect. Who's developing games for a system that is 5 years old? Who's spending 50 dollars on games when the next generation is months away?

OmegaRED

Honestly I have no clue how the PS2 survived so long. The graphics were slightly better than my Gforce 2MX440 so I sold the PS2 and got a Radeon 8500. To think people are still buying games that look like crap...ugh

The_Neon_Cowboy

Well they shold stop raiseing the prices, and lower the prices faster = problem solved

calidan

Is that all you look for in a game? Graphics are not everything. Gameplay and story line is what I look for too in a game.

GeneralClaymore

Sady that what most of the Xbox360 owners look for which is graphics, There are also some who look at gameplay also. But so far most I seen only cared about the graphics which is sad.

I will play any game as long the gameplay is cool to me,I dont put graphics over gameplay.