Gamertell

It’s hard to tell from all the closures, layoffs and other bad financial info we talk about all day but according to research firm NPD Group, the video game industry pulled down huge profits in 2008.

According to NPD’s stats, computer, video game and peripheral sales added up to $21 billion in 2008 with entertainment software comprising up to $11.7 billion of that. That’s a jump of more than 23 percent from 2007, although it probably does little to console the numerous people in the industry that lost jobs recently.

Also interesting to note is that more than half of those software sales are considered “family-friendly” titles rated Everyone 10 and under by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. Teen-rated games made up 26.7 percent of sales and mature-rated games accounted for 15.9 percent of sales.

Nintendo, which has been working to corner the family and casual market with its Wii home console and DS portable system, has to like looking at those numbers. Make no mistake, the most familiar and typically well-received mature franchises are still doing just fine. Grand Theft Auto IV and Call of Duty:World at War were among 2008’s best sellers.

Software sales on consoles amounted to $8.9 billion, selling 189 million units. PC games sold $701 million worth, moving 29.1 million units and portables earned an impressive $2.1 billion by selling 79.5 million units.

In further analyzing the numbers, NPD Group’s stats show that the rich are getting richer. In the NPD report, industry analyst Anita Frazier said when this console generation launched in 2005, the top 20 games of the year sales wise made up 9 percent of overall sales. In 2008, the top 20 games accounted for 15 percent. 

Read [Crispy Gamer] Also Read [Gamasutra]