Videogames up 36% in first half of year
Console sales increase 23% from 2007 period
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 7/17/2008
JULY 17 | Videogame sales—including consoles, software and accessories—are maintaining their formidable 2008 momentum, hauling in $8.27 billion for the first six months of the year. That marks a 36% increase over the same frame in 2007.
Hardware alone generated $2.88 billion, up 23% from last year. Videogame titles hiked 49% to $4.3 billion.
PlayStation 3 sold 405,500 units in June, handily beating Xbox 360’s 219,800 monthly sales by one of the widest margins yet, according to the NPD Group. The Wii continued to trounce both, however, at 666,700 units.
PS3’s strength can be credited to June’s release of the latest installment for the popular Metal Gear Solid franchise, which is exclusive to the console, according to NPD. Metal Gear Solid 4: Gun of the Patriots was the top-selling game of the month, moving 774,600 units. That figure excludes copies that were bundled inside PS3 systems.
“PS3 unit sales were the highest of any month outside of that recorded during previous November/December holiday time frames,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said. “Platform-exclusive content usually fuels hardware system purchases, and PS3 sales certainly reflect the impact of Metal Gear Solid 4.”
Frazier said the state of the industry is impressive, considering how the entire U.S. economy is softening.
“The videogames industry continues to perform in the face of an ever-increasingly difficult economic environment, as many turn to more in-home entertainment,” said Frazier. “Even if growth slows over the back half of 2008, the industry is poised to achieve record-breaking revenue of over $22 billion for the year.”
Following Metal Gear, the remaining top five selling game titles were Nintendo DS’s Guitar Hero on Tour (422,300 units sold); Xbox 360’s Ninja Garden II; Wii’s Fit with balance board (372,700); and Wii’s Play with remote (359,100).
Regarding other hardware sales, the PlayStation 2 sold 188,800 units. Among the handhelds, Nintendo DS sold 783,000 units, and the PlayStation Portable sold 337,400.
