Video Game Sales Drop in November

That's what happens when you keep delaying Starcraft II.

What the hell is "NPD"?

That's because there haven't been any good games in Q4 2009, except maybe Left4Dead2 and ModernWarfare2 and Dragon Agerigins

I believe its a company that does market research.

market research firm.

IMO 2009 has been bad for gaming in general with almost no games actually worth purchasing coming out. Borderlands, Dragon Age, Demon Souls, and well thats all I can think of off the top of my head.

Kinda funny.

In the last Two weeks or so, I've bought at least ten or more games for our Nintendo Wii what with all the sale and mark down prices.

That also includes the newest Super Mario Brothers in the Red package.

Aside from that, I saw an excellent limited edition package deal at WalMart today which I was very tempted to buy. A 46" 1080p Sony Bravia TV with a Sony PlayStation 3 for something like $986 in store.

there was a game that released last November that is what boosted the sales so much. The WoW expansion

awh you beat me to it. That was exactly what i was about to say

Well, most of November is like the lull before a storm. Nov 1 to the 26th were dead because everyone was preparing to buy from Nov 27 to Dec 24.

November only had 4 real sale days. I'd be surprised if this hasn't happened in previous years.

Left for dead two on 360 sucks. Awesome on computer. Split screen gets terrible slowdown. Online has tons of lag. The 360 needs to be put out to pasture.

That's really odd?? I thought MW2 beat out existing sales records etc?? I am so sick of surveys and studies! They never seems to prove anything concrete.

I'm confused. It sounds like sales are down, yet Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all celebrating new sales records.

Looks like a 7% drop, which isn't much.

2.97 billion down to 2.7 billion. LoL

Nothing to be concerned about. I just added Midnight club La, NFS Shift, Dirt2 and Forza3 to my already very large collection of games. What i m saying is the console ain't going anywhere. For the PC gaming, well things aren't looking too good. Practically all game programming done today is console first then ported over to PC. And when the next gen consoles come out it's only going to get worse, Which really sucks because at one time i was a hardcore PC gamer for a lot of years, spent a ton of money on it.

I don't get why these matter at all. Video game sales are based on what games have just come out, not the time of the year.

And what about computer games? How far did they drop? Guess we're irrelevant. But the next time someone tells me how great their XBox360 or PS3 is, I'll just smile and nod.

"Sony reports that its PlayStation 3 is the only home system to register year-on-year growth"
Well easy to say when it was the only console that was barely selling any good numbers since release till the Slim/Pricedrop. I wouldnt advise them to be proud of this but well done in the overrall boost. No more aces up their sleeves for next year than the expected 3 titles so again they are in danger of loosing steam.

but yeah I agree with the rest/ I never really found use for sales numbers to the gamer himself its plain pointless. Might be feeding the kiddos that wanna sex up their systems. But thats about it.

let's see, the last big title built from the ground up for the PC was Crysis. That was back in 07.

This makes me wounder if they counted digital sales since L4D2 was pure digital except 360 and a small amount who buy it boxed for PC, Dragon Age was on Steam as well.

But MW2 was on Steam and bought by some but a lot of PC players bypassed it for the mistake of removing dedicated servers they made.

I am not surprised one bit. There is a practical limit to how much sales can increase.

thats what happends when everyone starts focusing to much on graphics and physics and releases a mediocre story line.Most games these days have not been that great so everyone saved they're money for the couple of good gamesl ike Dragon age and borderlands n such.

Just quit while you are ahead... You dont know what you are talking about and spitting out information you know nothing about. How can you say that Crysis was the last big title built from the ground up for the PC..? There are so many titles for both console and PC that never make it to each other, it isnt funny. Take just about any RTS game for instance, a gaming model that doesnt work well on consoles due to the lack of mouse and keyboard. If you followed the entire industry, you would know that there are many titles that are exclusive to one of the other. And what even classifies as "Big" as you put it. You're just looking at some popular releases and ignoring everything else.

PC Gaming isnt dead, just currently sharing the love with consoles as well. Which if your typical console gamer would get his head out of his own a$$, would know that PC gaming is where it is at. Sure consoles can be initially cheaper, but the average title on PC costs less in the store and your average console setup isnt cheap after you figure in extra controllers, wifi adapters, membership fees, gaming hardware, etc. A cheap gaming PC can be had for the same money.

I would argue PC gaming is soon going to thrive even more, as current gen console hardware becomes increasingly out of date. We already know that this gen consoles are going to be the longest life gen ever. Not being replaced for another 2-4 years from now. I dont know about you, but even with me being a console game system owner (mostly for games like Rock Band and streaming movies to another room), even I know the console system is already getting long in the tooth...

Statistically the data may still be relevant as if they are showing similar data for last year with the same data pool, the trend may be extrapolated to other regions with similar consumer tastes. I am not saying it wouldnt be nice to consider the data as a whole, but in practical terms, that really isnt possible. It also may just be the side of the story they want to highlight. For whatever reason.
I agree with you though that the numbers may be skewed.

Nobody said that PC gaming is dying, it's just that unfortunately, it have to follow the market dictated by the consoles to stay in business. So while economically speaking PC gaming isn't dying, in terms of the unique gameplay experience it had over the consoles, it is. Dragon Age: Origins is a good example of this. Top notch story telling and animations, technically proficient 3D engine and polished from the ground up. But in terms of gameplay? Seriously, there is a reason why I am returning to and still playing old titles like NeverWinter Nights, Baldur's Gate. Same thing goes for games like F.E.A.R. There is a reason why I am still replaying that game over and over again, while there's no way I am going to replay F.E.A.R. 2, which have been influenced by the consoles in it's making. Not saying it was a bad game, but you know... But there's still hope for PC gaming sweetness and uniqueness. There's AvP 3 on the way, which is being developed independently from it's console counterparts. And there's also Call of Pripyat which looks good, and is PC only. No, PC gaming isn't dying, but no one can deny that a huge part of it's market is now being dictated by the consoles.

The economy will fully recover once starcraft 2 comes out...

I love it when people tell me PC gaming is Dead. I guess those 14million people are playing WoW with there Wiimotes and all those new RTS are being microed with D-pad and Analog sticks. Then if I think about the number of people on CS and Starcraft servers plus all the other new titles being released its more than enough justification to tell the Graphic card makers that they haven’t been making a profit off gamers all this time (it was just an illusion) and its time to take up something else instead, like kitting.

Save us Ben And Rob........

Bla bla bla... Game sales are down because of the economy.
@ 50 bucks a crack.. i just cant bring myself to buy a game at that price...if i wait for a few months they will be half that price.. I buy from the bargain bin... $20 is the sweet spot.
Hell i cant pass up a game at $20... I saw GTA IV for pc @ $20 ... Even though i read terrible reviews..performance and buggy issues.. i just couldn't help myself. I even bought Crysis when i new my pc couldnt play it at the time.. But i had a gift card and like I said..I'm a sucker for $2O.

You're doing it wrong. NPD was doing the surveys and studies. The "BEST SALES EVAR" was the marketing machine. It's based on truth, yes, but still ignorant of the larger picture.