Ominous forecasts for video games
The video game industry saw an incredible 2018, with new software and hardware sales setting records. Don’t expect similar performance in 2019. Video game sales in the United States hit astonishing new highs last year as they rose 18% over the previous records of 2017. Software sales, including game releases, in-game purchases and subscriptions, are up 18% to $35.8 billion. Meanwhile, hardware from video game consoles to portable gaming devices sold 15% more than it did last year.
Mat Piscatella, a market analyst at NPD Group, talked about the many reasons behind 2018 having such a great success. These include the arrival of new games from prominent companies, such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption II. Fortnite, released in 2017, is completely free to play and generates an enormous revenue from players who purchase outfits for their characters. Fortnite is now available on more platforms than it ever has before, so players no longer have to limit themselves to playing on just one device. Unfortunately, revenue from the game in January signaled that the spending frenzy would not continue this year.
Console sales
Another blow for the video game industry in 2019 is that both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One console releases are getting old according to console data. PlayStation 4 sales have slowed down whereas demand for Xbox One has always been below that of PlayStation 4. The Switch was to sell 20 million units, as expected. Nintendo, though, now expects to move only 17 million units for the fiscal year.
Moreover, titles of highly successful games are expected to have fewer releases. “2019 will be a little more challenging,” Piscatella says.
In 2020, when next-generation consoles are expected to be introduced, video game industry revenues will pick up again. Piscatella believes so. Microsoft and Sony have already confirmed that they are working on their successors to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. They haven’t provided any specific information about the timeframes though.
New game releases are a very big deal, especially at the moment. Many upcoming releases in 2020 are set to make billions and release high sales, especially with the huge demand for new content.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
