Gamertell

If you think the gaming industry is a sure fire way to make some money, you are way off.

According to Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR), only 20% of games that hit the market make a decent profit. That means that 80% of the games you see on shelves are either losing profits or barely breaking even.

A game may be very successful but the company still doesn’t make a profit because of all the added expenses that went into the game. Every time you rework or redesign a part of the game, you have to fork over some extra cash. If you decide to add in extra features to the game, such as online play, you gotta open up the wallet. And adding multiplayer, is it worth an extra 500 Gs?

According to Geoffrey Zatkin, co-founder of EEDAR (as interviewed by Game Daily), there are several factors that determines what will

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The two biggest stereotypes when it comes to gamers are a) that they are kids and b) they are males. A recent study put out by, IBISWorld, Inc. (one of the nation’s most respected independent publishers of business intelligence research), indicates that the complete opposite it true.

Results of the study suggest that most of the current gamers are older adults and may of those are - you guessed it - women.

According to the study, the average purchaser of games in the U.S. is 39, which means these adults started playing video games when they were teenagers and haven’t stopped. As if that’s not enough,  24% of current gamers today are…

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CNET recently posted a list of the year’s top five selling games (thus far), and the results will surprise no one. GTA IV (on PS3 and Xbox 360) was the top dog, followed by a trio of Wii-specific titles: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit, followed by the multi-platform Guitar Hero III. It’s interesting to note that three of the top five came bundled with a non-traditional controller apparatus, be it the Wii Wheel, a Wii Balance Board, or the GH guitar.

From the post:

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We all knew that music games (like Guitar Hero and Rock Band) were huge and possibly driving sales, but a recent GameDaily post illustrates just how important the “it” genre has become. The post states that “music games have been a “key driver” this year, with “sales of music-themed games responsible for 19% of overall industry software dollars in July (15% YTD) and 44% of y/y industry dollar growth during the month (32% of growth YTD)“ and Guitar Hero franchise dollars year-to-date are up an astounding 87%. Rock Band has been no slouch, either, with combined sales (across platforms) of $47 million. Those numbers are nothing to shake a goofy plastic guitar at.

32% of industry growth? That’s huge. Something has to be said for the universal appeal of these games, with their gameplay that appeals to casual gamers who just want something to rock out with at parties, and hardcore gamers going for insanely high scores. With Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Wii Music and Rock Revolution still forthcoming, it doesn’t look like the genre will be out of juice anytime soon.

Read [GameDaily]

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• EB Games/GameStop announces Cyber Monday 2008 sales
• Amazon offers RPG bargain buys in honor of Cyber Monday 2008

It’s time for a little pre-NPD predicting: GameDaily has the scoop on three major industry analysts’ takes on July sales. Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter, EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich and Lazard Capital Markets’ Colin Sebastian all predicted serious growth and Wii dominance (shocking!), though each had different specifics.

Pachter predicted 44% growth in overall software sales and for the Wii to outsell the Xbox 360 and PS3 combined, moving 650k units. Divnich sees 43% growth and “ expects Wii sales of over 612K compared to 360 sales of over 325K and PS3 sales of over 275K”. Most conservative of all are Sebastian’s estimates, putting the growth at 30-35%.

We’ll know very soon (the post indicates this Thursday) who was closest to the truth when the NPD’s come out.

Read [GameDaily]

• Video games not necessarily a money making industry
• EB Games/GameStop announces Cyber Monday 2008 sales
• Amazon offers RPG bargain buys in honor of Cyber Monday 2008

It looks like Sony’s finally turned the tables on it’s shaky launch. According to a recent article at adage.com, the PlayStation 3 has topped unit sales of the Xbox 360 in January, February and May, and shows no signs of slowing down. Adage attributes the console’s health with the success of the Blu-Ray format and good buzz among consumers. From the post:

“Since the beginning of the year, PS3 has been riding a wave of good news,—including the triumph of its Blu-ray DVD technology, a critical mass of consumers, and a spate of upgraded reviews. But lately Sony itself has gotten more aggressive in helping the system gain traction with new services and features from across its vast electronics and content empire.“

Of course, the Wii has astronomical sales figures and the Xbox 360 had a year head start on Sony’s machine, so the console certainly has a hefty challenge to meet. Still, things have been looking good for Sony fans - and last month’s release of Metal Gear Solid 4 only sweetens the deal.

Read [adage]

• Video games not necessarily a money making industry
• Walmart’s Cyber Monday 2008 video game deals
• EB Games/GameStop announces Cyber Monday 2008 sales

Next up to cast a shadow on PC gaming’s vitality is id Software, which had been a driving force in the platform’s popularity during the ‘90s with the Doom and Quake games. 

Last Thursday (March 20, 2008), id’s Director of Business, Steve Nix, told Eurogamer that the average first-person shooter player isn’t just some guy armed with a keyboard and mouse anymore. Although id will continue to steadfastly support PC gaming, it must take into account the current market shifts. Nix told Eurogamer that even formerly die-hard PC gamers are making the jump to consoles.

“I know that I have friends who are…

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Taking a cue from David Letterman and PCMagazine’s weekly Best/Worst lists, GamePro has post a 2007 list of what it has determined are the 11 worst trends in video game.

A few are the usual complaints - being too powerful is overdone and sequels suck - but after you get through the original list, see if you think these guys enjoy any video games. It might either be time for these guys to take a game-free sabbatical or figure out what a trend really is.

Here’s their basic list list followed by a few of my comments:

11. The Perfect Woman - Yes, they are everywhere, but as Kevin Costner said in a recent NPR interview, people negatively react to people in media who are either too good looking or not good looking enough

10. Bloom Effects - I’ll agree here, though I think this was also on XPlay’s list of outdated game effects. Those damn burst of light are blinding and unnecessary regardless of the processor making it look amazing. Sure, they might be somewhat realistic, but gamers need to see what they are doing.

9. Supersoldiers - Without a supersoldier or supersomeone, most games would just be some guy meandering around, doing very little. even if they seem to start out as a regualr guy, by the end of the game they’ve likely saved the world.

8. Regular soldiers, for that matter - OK, now that’s just a cop out. You cannot have both. Do you want to play as a crappy soldier? “You have tripped over a rock, you are seriously injured and in a hospital bed for months. Enjoy playing as an avatar who simply lays in once place, staring at the ceiling.“

7. Using every button on the controller - If it’s done right, why not?

6. Licensed soundtracks - Sorry, wrong there, too. I hate cheesy knockoff tunes by pseudo sound-alike artists. Grand Theft Auto III and its follow ups would not be nearly as enjoyable without the funky, era-specific tuneage. Overusing licensed music a la TV commercials, however, might be a bad trend.

5. Sequels - I call “copout” here. Like college newspapers, everyone claims to hate them but still gets them. Of course, without sequels, we’d miss out on great games like Final Fantasy XII.

4. Rising game prices - Inflation sucks. Not a trend but a fiscal reality.

3. Microtransactions - Amen. If you’ve read some of my earlier writings, you’d know that this is still my biggest complaint with modern gaming. Unfortunately, it’s not going away any time soon and will likely become much, much worse.

2. Gangsta themes - Amen m’borthas. Gangsta themes are, like, so 1985… except, maybe, in Japan. I didn’t realize there were enough games with this theme to warrant a trend, thoguh.

1. World War II themes - As much as I’d like to agree, if no one bought ‘em, game companies would stop making ‘em. I’d argue this is no longer a trend and has, instead, become it’s own genre.

Please chime in - or shoot down - any point of mine or theirs.

Read [GamePro] via [Gaming Today]

• The best-selling video games of 2008 (so far)
• Duh of the Day: Study indicates adults and girls are gamers, too
• Video games not necessarily a money making industry