By George Anderson
You couldn't tell it by the amount of hours logged on televisions and computers each month in the typical suburban American home, but sales of video games are dropping -- and fast.
DFC Intelligence, which covers the interactive gaming industry, predicts sales of game software and hardware will drop 9 percent this year, making 2004 one of the worst in recent years.
The only thing more depressing than DFC's 2004 forecast turning out to be right would be if its 2005 projection was accurate also. The firm projects sales of software and hardware to tail off 14 percent next year.
David Cole, an analyst with DFC Intelligence, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the industry is in need of the next big thing. "The game industry sort of has to reinvent itself every five years or so, but this is a time of great insecurity. It's going to create some real business challenges ... where the winners will be separated from the losers."
DFC expects the next big thing will come around, if not this year or next, by 2008. That year, DFC projects sales of interactive gaming software and hardware will surpass $33 billion.
Moderator's Comment: What do you think are the factors behind the drop in interactive game software and hardware sales? What will it take to reverse the decline?
Richard Ow, NPD's senior video games analyst, explained the drop off in a recent report. "Most of the consumers in this industry have had their video game hardware for some time now, so a slight decrease in sales is to be expected," he wrote.
We can't help wondering if the anti-obesity movement in the U.S. has gotten parents to force their kids out in the sunshine rather than indoors in front of a monitor playing the latest role or first person shooter game. - George Anderson - Moderator