Gamertell

PowerUp Games has announced that, later this month (July 2008), it will be providing a new and unique opportunity for gamers, developers and publishers to meet and discuss upcoming releases.

Through PowerUp.com, gamers will be able to connect with companies that really want to hear what gamers have to say, allowing them to offer suggestions to help improve games before they hit shelves.

“A common issue I see when games are being developed is that the testing takes a lot of resources and simple consumer feedback gets lost in the shuffle,” said PowerUp Games’ owner and industry veteran, Brad Baker, via email…

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According to Kotaku, the latest NPD numbers indicate that 2007 was a very good year for the game industry, with overall sales up 43% from 2006. The industry got an especially healthy boost in terms of console hardware sales (worth $5.12 billion, up 73% from the previous year), no doubt partially due to the Wii Madness that prevailed throughout the year. As the other NPD numbers show, however - hardware in general was extremely profitable this year, across the platforms.

The article also points out the phenomenal success of the Nintendo DS (with 8.5 million sold), but is quick to point out that with growth across the board, everyone made money this year.

The numbers:

Video Games - $17.94 billion (+43%)
Video Games Hardware - $7.04 billion (+54%)
Console Hardware - $5.12 billion (+73%)
Portable Hardware - $1.92 billion (+19%)

Video Games Software - $8.64 billion (+34%)
Console Software - $6.64 billion (+39%)
Portable Software - $2 billion (+18%)

Video Game Accessories - $2.26 billion (+52%)

Wow. All those claims of 2007 being the “best year ever!“ for games just may be right, at least from a sales perspective.

Read [Kotaku]

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