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Games Entertainment

Record Video Games Sales in 2001 294

Posted by CmdrTaco from the more-fun-then-paying-the-rent dept.
night_flyer noted an article running @ ZD talking about how 2001 was a record year for video games with doing 9.4B and PCs getting almost to 6B. Mentions Grand Theft Auto 3's huge sales, as well as The Sims. Also the X-Box, and Game Boy Advanced contributing to the big numbers.
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Record Video Games Sales in 2001 More

Record Video Games Sales in 2001

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  • And according to Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 08, 2002 @03:37PM (#2975855)
    They all sold more games than any other manufacturer.

    When everyone sells more than everyone else, how can you not have a banner year?
  • I wonder i this takes into account used game sales. I know I racked up a bit of debt buying used Dreamcast games while they're a) cheap and b) easy-to-find.
    • Probably not, much in the same way the auto industry includes only new car sales in their figures. BTW - they had a banner year too, thanks largely to the incentives in place after 9/11.

      As far as used games, I've gone retro and have snapped up some old SNES games of late.

      • Re:Used? (Score:2, Interesting)

        by HMC CS Major ( 540987 )
        In my dorm, there's a suite with a PS2, and a suite with an xbox, both of which are used somewhat regularly....

        There's also a suite with an n64, a sega genesis, and an old 8bit Nintendo console. Oddly enough, the old nintendo gets played more than the new ps2 and xbox.... and they regularly buy games for that for less than $5.
        • What? And no SNES with Mario Kart? Bummer.
        • Easily explained:

          When your completly pissed or stoned to the hills, an 8-bit console with a little mario-sprite looks _amazing_ (or the expression "RAD DUDE!" may apply) while a PS2 or $Box will make you feel like your just watching real lfe.
  • It's interesting that in a $9 Billion industry, there's so little money going to Linux gaming. I was disappointed with the bad news this year for Linux game companies. I hope that 2002 will bring good news.

    Tux racer, by the way, is awesome! I can't believe how easy ti was to install and run on my Slack box.
    • It's interesting that in a $9 Billion industry, there's so little money going to Linux gaming.

      What's not to understand? If you're comfortable with open source and free software and these packages are all that you use, why would you go out and actually pay for programs when you haven't spent money on software in two, five, or even ten years?

      As good of a "service" as it was to have Loki allowing folks to only install one operating system on their machines and be able to play games, their business model just wasn't feasible. Perhaps if they truly understood the mindset of their target consumers and that they just simply weren't going to be paying any money for software, then they would have avoided starting a company and failing soon thereafter.

      I realize this will probabyl get modded down to tarnation, but I'm hoping that someone appreciates my opinion as it is and doesn't take it personally. I'm right, people.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Remember that 90% of that $6B is being spent by "computer gamers", not the general public. Among *that* crowd I'd guess that Linux desktop usage is closer to 10-15%. Although that usage is probably not exclusive--meaning they have a Windows machine around to "play games on". Still, presumably they'd buy a Linux game if it was marketed well.

        Which to me was the big problem with Loki. They ported CivCTP (which I bought) and then AFAICT fell off the face of the earth. I didn't know they had done dozens of games in addition.

        $300M is a *lot* of money if you aren't paying for engine development and original art--which Loki wasn't.

        BTW, I really like the idea of CaptionContest but it wasn't ever updated. Now I see your sig proclaims it has been, but the link doesn't work. What up?

      • I think alot more people would be using Linux on the desktop if there WERE more games on it.

        I currently don't use Linux on the desktop because I have to use Windows to play all the games I want. That is the sole reason I *need* Windows, I can do everything else just as good in Linux as I can in Windows (if not better)

        Not trying to be anti-MS here..MS is great for playing games, which is one area which would help Linux grow onto the desktop. I know many people who rather have MS on their workstation because of the ability to play games.

        So, I think that while your figures may be close, the POTENTIAL market is alot higher. Many potential linux gamers are running Windows for the time being, but would rather play their games if Linux supported them.

    • How is this interesting? We already know that not many people use Linux on the desktop, right? So why would all the people using Windows buy Linux games?


      Nothing to see here, move along.

    • Well, I'm as sad as anybody else about the state of gaming on Linux, but I can't see the trend changing anytime soon. It's a real Catch-22: companies won't make game that support Linux because there aren't enough Linux gamers out there, and there aren't enought Linux gamers out there because companies don't publish games for the OS. This is why I really like what Transgaming is doing: enabling Linux users to play DirectX games on their machine - this is bound to help Linux make it on the desktop, even if only in a small way (don't underestimate the power of video games to make or break a PC architecture!). Id software are also Linux-friendly, with most of their games playable on the penguin...I suspect that there are a few Linux users in there.

      Now, if only some great hacker would succeed in bringing Linux to my Xbox...

      • Id software are also Linux-friendly, with most of their games playable on the penguin...I suspect that there are a few Linux users in there.

        Maybe, but not enough linux-only zealots to justify selling separate linux binaries. theCarmack basically said after Quake 3 Arena that sales of the linux port were so dismal that they wouldn't bother in the future. Oh, sure, there'll still be linux ports. Witness RTCW. They'll just be done in spare time, and take a little longer, and they won't be sold in a commercial box (like Zoid doing the ports for Q1 and Q2, they'll probably only have one or two guys on the ports for post-Q3 games, rather than hiring a whole company like Loki).


        Lots of game servers run on linux, however, and id as well as others have typically been prompt about getting the servers ported over to linux quickly.

    • The real problem with Linux games is the user base. Many Linux users refuse to pay for software, so they'll copy it from their friends, thus the software company loses money. There is also the small user base that won't buy or use anything that isn't Open Source. And, there aren't any artists on the Linux platform willing to help with animation and graphics for games.

  • RIAA watch out (Score:4, Interesting)

    by gorilla ( 36491 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @03:39PM (#2975876)
    I wonder how much of the RIAA's decrease ended up increasing the game industry? People have limited funds, and if they're spending more money on one form of entertainment, they're going to be spending less on another.

    • Re:RIAA watch out (Score:4, Funny)

      by leviramsey ( 248057 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @04:03PM (#2976059) Journal
      I wonder how much of the RIAA's decrease ended up increasing the game industry? People have limited funds, and if they're spending more money on one form of entertainment, they're going to be spending less on another.

      No, you fool! The RIAA's decreased sales are solely due to KaZaA et al. The crap that is being put out, and the fact that it sucks compared to video games has nothing to do with it. It's P2P all the way!

      Maybe the re-education camps are where you belong.

      Sheesh!

  • What really drives the consoles! (Score:3)

    by Pov ( 248300 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @03:41PM (#2975886)
    Let's not forget other great franchise games like Final Fantasy X that led to the PS2 sales so people could buy other games. At least that's why I have one and now I've got two or three other games just cuz.

    Instead of the Killer App, it's the Killer Game that drives the market and there are more serial games now than ever.

  • Good. (Score:2, Funny)

    by sketerpot ( 454020 )
    It's nice to see that there are some constants in life. Economies may falter, nations may fall, but people will tll want to blast aliens as realistically as possible.

    Besides that, I'm glad that this will fuel the creation of more cool video games. More video games!

  • Glad to hear it... (Score:5, Funny)

    by UsonianAutomatic ( 236235 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @03:42PM (#2975896) Homepage
    Or as one of my Sims likes to Say,

    "This graa es fredushay!"
    • I'm frightfully glad I wasn't drinking a beverage when I read your post, or all of it would have summarily exited through my nasal passage. Bravo! That's the first open guffaw I've had on /. all week.

      Now if only I had mod points to give...

  • Portables (Score:2, Interesting)

    by PowerTroll 5000 ( 524563 )
    Nintendo continued to dominate the portable game console market. Its Game Boy Advance saw unit sales increase 22 percent from 2000.

    This is because, for the most part, the GBA is the only portable game system available now. When was the last time Nintendo had a true competitor in the portable game market?

    I'm surprised that Sony hasn't pushed their PSone more as a portable of late, especially since you can attach a screen to it.

    • for the most part, the GBA is the only portable game system available now. When was the last time Nintendo had a true competitor in the portable game market?

      Texas Instruments graphing calculators pose serious competition to Nintendo products. They have the advantage that a large portion of Nintendo's target audience (students aged 12-18) can bring calculators to school, but most school systems have non-negotiable regulations banning all products produced by Nintendo of America Inc. from the premises.

      Palm OS and WinCE devices also pose a threat because they pretty much own the market for cheap games for traveling businesspeople.

      I'm surprised that Sony hasn't pushed their PSone more as a portable of late, especially since you can attach a screen to it.

      PSone can't be made handheld because a 12cm disc is just too clunky for a handheld unless you either make a two-piece system (controller and screen connected to a Discman-looking device) or expose the CD (done in the PlayStation Portable [classicgaming.com]) which might incur action from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

  • It will only get bigger. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Gamecube and XBox still dont have all the "killer apps" to REALLY get their systems going yet. Some arent even released in other countries yet, either. Once Mario, Zelda, Sonic, and Metroid hit for Gamecube you'll see Nintendo sales go through the fookin' ROOF. Im not sure what Microsoft has lined up. Maybe Close Combat 4 or something. Who knows.

    • Yes around 50% of them are TBA (To-Be-Announced) but it's still a big list

      NFL 2K2 Sport TBA 08-Jan-2002 Released US
      NBA Inside Drive 2002 Sport TBA 22-Jan-2002 Released US
      ESPN NFL PrimeTime 2002 Sport TBA 23-Jan-2002 Released US
      Nightcaster RPG 01-Apr-2002 25-Jan-2002 Released US
      Genma Onimusha Action 21-Mar-2002 29-Jan-2002 Released US
      Wreckless Racing 22-Mar-2002 05-Feb-2002 Released US
      TransWorld Snowboarding Sport TBA 12-Feb-2002
      WWF Raw is War Sport 01-Apr-2002 12-Feb-2002
      Jet Set Radio Future Action 14-Mar-2002 19-Feb-2002
      New Legends Action 26-Apr-2002 19-Feb-2002
      UFC: Tapout Fighting 01-Apr-2002 19-Feb-2002
      Circus Maximus Action 01-Apr-2002 26-Feb-2002
      All Star Baseball 2003 Sport 26-Apr-2002 26-Feb-2002
      Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 Sport 14-Mar-2002 05-Mar-2002
      ESPN Winter Sports 2002 Sport TBA 05-Mar-2002
      Knockout Kings 2002 Sport 29-Mar-2002 05-Mar-2002
      NBA 2K2 Sport TBA 05-Mar-2002
      ESPN Snowboarding 2002 Sport TBA 05-Mar-2002
      Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat Action TBA 12-Mar-2002
      NFL Blitz 20-02 Sport TBA 12-Mar-2002
      Spy Hunter Racing TBA 12-Mar-2002
      Brute Force Action 14-Mar-2002 14-Mar-2002
      Hunter: The Reckoning Action 28-Jun-2002 15-Mar-2002
      ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 Sport TBA 16-Mar-2002
      GunValkyrie Action TBA 22-Mar-2002
      Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 Action 14-Mar-2002 26-Mar-2002
      Triple Play 2002 Sport TBA 26-Mar-2002
      007: Agent Under Fire Action 01-Jun-2002 29-Mar-2002
      Crash Bandicoot Action 15-Mar-2002 29-Mar-2002
      The Matrix Action 01-Apr-2002 01-Apr-2002
      Race of Champions Racing 01-Apr-2002 01-Apr-2002
      Crash Racing 12-Apr-2002 12-Apr-2002
      Buffy the Vampire Slayer Action 19-Apr-2002 23-Apr-2002
      Conflict: Desert Storm Action 26-Apr-2002 26-Apr-2002
      PRO Race Driver (TOCA) Racing 26-Apr-2002 26-Apr-2002
      Mike Tyson HW Boxing Sport 26-Apr-2002 26-Apr-2002
      Legends of Wrestling Sport 26-Apr-2002 26-Apr-2002
      Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind RPG 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Outlaw Golf Sport 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      The Thing Action 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Loons: The Fight for Fame Action 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Spyro the Dragon 4 Action 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      David Beckham Soccer Sport 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Zan-Kabuki Fighting 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Action 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Colin McRae Rally 3 Racing 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Tactical 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Rallisport Challenge Racing 14-Mar-2002 01-May-2002
      Red Card Soccer Sport 01-May-2002 01-May-2002
      Spider-Man: The Movie Action 03-May-2002 03-May-2002
      Test Drive Racing 22-Mar-2002 12-May-2002
      Tom Clancys Ghost Recon Tactical 01-May-2002 19-May-2002
      Rayman M Action TBA 26-May-2002
      Yager Action 31-May-2002 31-May-2002
      Taz Wanted Action 31-May-2002 31-May-2002
      Heaven and Hell Strategy 01-Jun-2002 01-Jun-2002
      Phantom Crash Action 01-Jun-2002 01-Jun-2002
      Sega GT 2002 Racing TBA 15-Jun-2002
      House of the Dead 3 Action 15-Jun-2002 15-Jun-2002
      Commandos 2 Strategy 15-Jun-2002 15-Jun-2002
      Terminator: Dawn of Fate Action TBA 25-Jun-2002
      Mat Hoffmanns Pro BMX 2 Sport 28-Jun-2002 28-Jun-2002
      Moto GP Racing 28-Jun-2002 28-Jun-2002
      Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance RPG 28-Jun-2002 28-Jun-2002
      Minority Report Adventure 01-Jul-2002 01-Jul-2002
      Shining Lore MMORPG 01-Jul-2002 01-Jul-2002
      College Basketball 2K2 Sport 01-Jul-2002 01-Jul-2002
      Armada 2: Exodus Adventure 15-Jul-2002 15-Jul-2002
      Street Hoops Sport TBA 15-Jul-2002
      Kelly Slaters Pro Surfer Sport TBA 15-Jul-2002
      Good Cop Bad Cop Action 01-Aug-2002 01-Aug-2002
      Nomads Strategy 01-Aug-2002 01-Aug-2002
      Curse: The Eye of Isis Adventure 01-Aug-2002 01-Aug-2002
      X-MEN: Next Dimension Action TBA 15-Aug-2002
      Chris Edwards Aggressive Inline Sport 07-Aug-2002 15-Aug-2002
      Breed FPS 01-Sep-2002 01-Sep-2002
      Project Ego Action 01-Sep-2002 01-Sep-2002
      Turok Evolution FPS 09-Aug-2002 27-Sep-2002
      Burnout Racing 27-Sep-2002 27-Sep-2002
      Giants Action 30-Sep-2002 30-Sep-2002
      Mortal Kombat 5 Fighting 30-Sep-2002 30-Sep-2002
      NFL Blitz 20-03 Sport 30-Sep-2002 30-Sep-2002
      NHL Hitz 20-03 Sport 30-Sep-2002 30-Sep-2002
      Malice Action 01-Oct-2002 01-Oct-2002
      Freaky Flyers Racing 01-Oct-2002 01-Oct-2002
      SWAT: Global Strike Team Tactical 01-Oct-2002 01-Oct-2002
      Comanche Simulator 01-Oct-2002 01-Oct-2002
      Unreal Championship FPS TBA 15-Oct-2002
      Shayde FPS TBA 31-Oct-2002
      Vexx Action 31-Oct-2002 31-Oct-2002
      Rocky Sport 01-Nov-2002 01-Nov-2002
      Goblin Quest Action 01-Nov-2002 01-Nov-2002
      Strident Action 01-Nov-2002 01-Nov-2002
      Duality Action 01-Nov-2002 01-Nov-2002
      Loose Cannon Action 01-Nov-2002 01-Nov-2002
      Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown Strategy 29-Nov-2002 29-Nov-2002
      Fate RPG 01-Dec-2002 01-Dec-2002
      Battle Engine Aquila Action 01-Dec-2002 01-Dec-2002
      Sgt. Cruise Action 01-Jul-2003 01-Jul-2003
      Championship Manager 01/02 Sport 14-Mar-2002 N/A
      Enclave RPG 14-Mar-2002 TBA
      Return to Castle Wolfenstein FPS TBA TBA
      Heli Heroes Action TBA TBA
      Battlefield: 1942 Action TBA TBA
      Bounty Hunter FPS TBA TBA
      Dragons Lair 3D Action TBA TBA
      DroneZ Action TBA TBA
      E-Racer Racing TBA TBA
      Fellowship of the Ring RPG TBA TBA
      Galleon Action TBA TBA
      Jonny Drama Action TBA TBA
      Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Action TBA TBA
      Savage Skies Action TBA TBA
      Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix Action TBA TBA
      Title Defense Sport TBA TBA
      TransWorld Skateboarding Sport TBA TBA
      9 Worlds Action TBA TBA
      Call of the Dragonfly Action TBA TBA
      Chase Racing TBA TBA
      Crimson Sea Adventure TBA TBA
      Downforce Racing TBA TBA
      Farnation MMORPG TBA TBA
      Gaia Blade RPG TBA TBA
      Grand Theft Auto 3 Action 31-May-2002 TBA
      Gun Metal Simulator 29-Mar-2002 TBA
      Magides Fight Action TBA TBA
      Metal Dungeon RPG TBA TBA
      Mission Impossible 2 Action TBA TBA
      Murakumo Action TBA TBA
      Neverland Saga Puzzle TBA TBA
      Infiltrator: Shadow Wars RPG TBA TBA
      The Unholy Action TBA TBA
      Ultimate blade of Darkness Action TBA TBA
      Rally Trophy Racing 29-Mar-2002 TBA
      X-Isle FPS TBA TBA
      Broken Sword 3: The Sleeping Dragon Adventure 26-Jul-2002 TBA
      Falcone: Enter the Maelstrom Action TBA TBA
      Internal Pain Action TBA TBA
      Silent Space Strategy TBA TBA
      Xavier Fox Action TBA TBA
      Seraphim Action TBA TBA
      Dead to Rights Action TBA TBA
      Soul Calibur 2 Fighting TBA TBA
      ESPN National Hockey Night 2002 Sport TBA TBA
      Rolling Sport TBA TBA
      Jimmy Whites Cueball World Sport TBA TBA
      Crazy Car Championship Racing TBA TBA
      Wrath Fighting TBA TBA
      Dreadnoughts FPS TBA TBA
      Jockeys Road Simulator TBA TBA
      Kakuto Chojin Fighting TBA TBA
      Kingdom Under Fire Strategy TBA TBA
      Conseal Action TBA TBA
      Gothic 2 RPG TBA TBA
      Sam and Max Adventure TBA TBA
      Kehl: Fury Unbound Action TBA TBA
      Legend of the Sun RPG TBA TBA
      Maximum Chase Racing TBA TBA
      Nezmik Puzzle TBA TBA
      Driven Racing TBA TBA
      Largo Winch Adventure TBA TBA
      Stung! Action TBA TBA
      Master Rallye Racing TBA TBA
      Reign of Fire Action TBA TBA
      BC Action TBA TBA
      Shenmue II RPG TBA TBA
      Dominion Action TBA TBA
      Apprentice Knight Action TBA TBA
      Marakumo Action TBA TBA
      The Unseen Action TBA TBA
      Universe Strategy TBA TBA
      Blade 2 Action TBA TBA
      Vultures Action TBA TBA
      BloodRayne Action TBA TBA
      TD Overdrive Racing 22-Mar-2002 TBA
      Robotech Action TBA TBA
      Shrapnel FPS TBA TBA
      SeaBlade Action TBA TBA
      Smashing Drive Racing TBA TBA
      ESPN Winter X-Games Snocross Sport TBA TBA
      Serious Sam FPS TBA TBA
      Orchid Action TBA TBA
      Grand Prix 4 Racing 07-Jun-2002 TBA
      Piledriver Action TBA TBA
      Black & White Simulator TBA TBA
      Toxic Grind Sport TBA TBA
      MX 2003 Racing TBA TBA
      F1 2002 Racing TBA TBA
      Crazy Taxi 3 Action TBA TBA
      Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3 Sport TBA TBA
      Mafia Action TBA TBA
      Nightmare Creatures 3 Action TBA TBA
      Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon Action TBC TBC
      Metal Gear Solid X Action TBC TBC

  • NPD added that 2002 could be the year that interactive, Internet-based games become more widely played.


    And how much do these guys get paid?

    *Hoping that they're talking about console games*
  • This year may also have been penultimate proof that the gaming industry is in a really stagnant rut when it comes to the culture of development. My buddies working in games bitched more, got paid less, were laid off more often or had to leave due to disputes with moronic producers and overfunded designers than ever before, and every word I heard pushed one simple fact (with the exception of coders who always seem to be allright). Creating games has become a true massmarket medium - unfortunately it is also almost entirely about money now and for most in the industry has nothing to do with vision or fun.

    I expect with this news for that trend to continue further - more middle management and inflated budgets or ship dates that are unrealistic. Because gaming is becoming all about the Benjamins...

    And speaking of $6.9 billion dollars of PC gaming software sales - considering that the best games hardly sold at all, that means a shitload of Deer Hunter and Sims games were sold last year.
    • Creating games has become a true massmarket medium - unfortunately it is also almost entirely about money now and for most in the industry has nothing to do with vision or fun.


      Check out Garage Games [garagegames.com] for a good assortment of games being produced mostly for fun and maybe a little profit in the end (its possible!), but mostly for fun. Some of the games being made would be classified as "different" and would cater to a niche market... check out the listed projects and maybe get involved in something. Most projects are looking for poeple to help out.
    • I do not think you know what it means:

      Penultimate Pe*nul"ti*mate, a.
      Last but one; as, the penultimate syllable, the last syllable but one of a word; second to last.

  • FFX Not mentioned? (Score:3, Troll)

    by Deltan ( 217782 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @03:44PM (#2975916)
    I believe Final Fantasy X has shipped more than all of those titles. Maybe?

    http://ps2.ign.com/news/41328.html [ign.com]

    • Re:FFX Not mentioned? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Pov ( 248300 )
      Yes, it's shipped more now, but the report is for last year and FFX sales didn't get fully off the ground until January. GTA3 was out in October.
    • Sold more worldwide maybe... this article is about domestic sales. I think that FFX is in at a little over 1 mil in the U.S.

    • Re:FFX Not mentioned? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by kawlyn ( 154590 )
      Add to that hardware. I bought a PS2 just for FFX, that and I needed a new DVD player. Which creates an interesting question. Are PS2's and XBoxen driving DVD sales?
  • Here's the full press release [npdfunworld.com] from NPD that triggered the article on ZDnet.

  • Bigger sales but still gamecompanys are backrupt? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by rasjani ( 97395 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @03:45PM (#2975926) Homepage
    Wow, publishers are making more money than ever and gamehouses are on tighter budgets and even tighter deadlines "because we have to make money with your product"..

    Tell me, who's gettin' screwd in this picture ?

  • Speaking of Grand Theft Auto 3, does anyone know when the PC version will be coming out?

  • Sorry, this is a totally offtopic issue. Just wondering what sorts of games out there are turning a profit, what kind of sales the average game might need to break even, that sort of thing.
  • Surprising....They'd have sold at least 50 million Mario worlds if they had it on game cube

  • imagine. (Score:2, Funny)

    by raindog151 ( 157588 )
    oh boy i can't wait, GTA3 movie, GTA3 tv series, GTA3 lunchboxes, GTA3 cereal..

    it's good to see that interactive entertainment is finally becoming mainstream in the eyes of the suits though.

    then again, maybe we're just headed for a video game boom/bust just like atari had back in the 80s. arcades are dying slowly, consoles are going to have shorter and shorter lifespans with higher pricetags.

    • Yeah, GTA3 the cerial would rock. This cerial is rated M for Mature. That would be an interesting section of the grocery store to hang out in. Just like the pr0n sections of video stores. Plus maybe I can start my pimp and ho action figure collection with the prizes.

      -J
  • This is especially impressive considering just how many pirated games I've seen floating around.

  • Doesn't suprise me (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Suicide ( 45320 )
    Any year that has the release of a new portable (Game Boy Advance), followed by the near simultaneous releases of 2 home consoles, (Game Cube and X Box) is bound to spark a large number of software sales.

    The Game Boy has been basically the only portable on the market for years and I'm sure that there were plenty of people who ready to upgrade to a newer technology.

    And I would think that Microsoft's gigantic marketing campaign, following September where we are all looking to stay home more caused a few consoles to be sold.

  • the reason for good sales in a recession... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by night_flyer ( 453866 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @03:48PM (#2975955) Homepage
    people dont have as much disposable income, and tend to purchase entertainment that can be "reused". Books & Boards Games are always big sellers in bad economies, video games just follow the logical progression.

    what falters in bad economies are "night on the town" style entertainment like movies and fine dining (with the notable exception of bars)
    • When people are in bad times, they want to divert their attention. (Hence, I write this from work.) They also want to blow things up. ...and not just infatable things.
    • My wife and I spent around $100 on two copies of Diablo 2 and the expansion pack. I think it's saved us hundreds of dollars that would have been blown on weekend jaunts to Monterey, boozing in some dive bar, or otherwise blown.

      It also keeps me somewhat sane after being unemployed for 6 months.
  • I got GTA-3 so i could Zap (shoot/beatup) Americans. lol

    No but seriously, they charge why to much. Yes, i know entertainment is a non essential item, but all that money for a bit of plastic that costs nothing to press? And don't try to tell me that [production cost]/[expected no. of sales] = the retail price of most new games. People are making profit here that makes the drug market look cheap. I and many others get addicted to games with serious side-effects - joint problems, fatigue, eye problems, social problems, moral issues, not to mention the cost. Kinda makes snorting coke look like an easy ride

  • Of course it was a big year... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by powerlinekid ( 442532 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @03:51PM (#2975976)
    Think about it, the growing power of the pc and its cheapness is allowing more and more people to run the best games on it, at $50 a piece. Along with that you have the ps2 which has sold some insane number like 18 million units (including one to me last week). I bought it for final fantasy X but decided I wanted to play it with my little brothers so went out and bought 3 more games. This is probably the first year that we've had 3 consoles that are all roughly equal in the minds of users so maybe the more of a choice has lead some people to check out details alittle more which I know once I got into hardware specs I couldn't help but buy one. Just wish the ps2 and xbox were alittle cheaper, but theres always the gamecube and computer games to cover that market. I suppose thats the biggest thing, its no longer you buy a system at $200 (the original consoles, nes, genesis, sega cd, saturn, ps1, 3do, super nes, etc) and thats it. Now you've got your super systems (xbox, ps2), your less pricey but still nice systems (gamecube, gameboy advance, psone combo) and with everyone owning a computer, your very low cost games (darkvault of camalot, soldier of fortune, wolfenstein, sims, etc). Definitly looks like a good time to be in the gaming industry with so many options.
  • I have noticed an increasing trend towards people having and using multiple platfors for gaming. In the past it seemed that most people had either a nintendo or a sega for example. Now it's common to use several. Am I the only freak running at least 5? (Atari 2600,N64,PS2,GBA,PC).
  • that everyone was losing money because of piracy? How the hell can they be making money when everyone is copying the software?

    Seriously. This is as lame as bitching about Napster, while CD sales exploded.

    Natural value rules work, even in the midst of artificial IP rules. ha!

    Yet another nail in the IP coffin. if you give people something that they WANT to pay for.. they will.

    Until fantasy StarTrek transporters/replicators are developed, then the rules will not change.

    People will pay for tangible things and supportive service and that which provides them convenience or entertainment. Period. They will not pay for anything else and to force people to do so is artificial.

    • Re:But I thought... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Steveftoth ( 78419 )
      You're forgetting that the Console had 9B while the PC had 6B. You can pirate the PC games, but it's much harder to pirate a console game. I mean I can give a friend a warez copy of Diablo 2 or the sims, but unless I go over to his house and solder a chip into his PSX/PS2, there is no way I can give him a copy of GTA3.

      Also notice that top selling pc game is a game that requires little Hardware. The sims doesn't support accelerated 3-d at ALL. Which is one reason that it always looks the same on every platform.
    • Time between first successful test of a replicator and entry of a bullet in the back of the creator's head? I estimate 5 minutes. No capitalist government in the world can allow such a device to exist. If information gets out on how to create such a device a war that will end our present civilization will break out. Replicators are a fantasy, and will remain a fantasy. No advance in technology will prevent you from dying before you get to try one.
  • Apparently piracy isn't hurting the video game market, then, even though there IS rampant piracy, especially with the consoles.

    This might be due to the popularity of online gaming and MMORPGs, and the fact that there are three huge new consoles that people are working on cracking more fully.

    However, I just hope that the trend towards moving everything online doesn't go too far; I still like to buy and own things, and not have to pay for extra services when I don't have to.

    If the movie and music industry ever do catch on to how the gaming industry operates, we could all be in trouble, and end up paying for our media without having our own copy! But that day should be a couple of years away for now, just due to basic bandwidth considerations.

    That's still a bit too near for 1984 for my comfort, though.
  • It's a combination of several factors, imo.

    1st, you have the launch of several different consoles. This in turn makes people want games to play on them, so they buy titles that maybe they wouldn't normally, if a large group of titles were out there.

    2nd, the economy is in the sh!tter, so people tend to stay at home more, and it's easier to justify a $50 video game you can play for a long time as opposed to a dinner out at some fancy place.

    3rd, PCs are cheap as hell, fast, and getting cheaper/faster by the day. That gaming market exploded as well I expect.

    lastly, There are a lot of really cool games out there. Online games, pc games, console games, it's all good.

    that should just about sum up everything in one post.
  • Someone double check me, but arn't these figures just based in the USofA, and are not world figures? So saying FFX was the killer game for PS2 in 2001 might be premature because it has sold 2 million plus from Dec 18, till February. THe article didnt mention, which would of been nice for comparison's sake, how much the Sims made this year alone, after the first year of sales. Just some thoughts of mine.
  • From the article:

    A sluggish economy and terrorist attacks did little to satiate Americans' urge to zap aliens, according to a study released Thursday.

    Man, I thought zapping aliens was what we're doing in Guantanamo!

    (I'm getting modded into the basement for that one)

  • Fun Video Game Trivia (Score:5, Interesting)

    by x mani x ( 21412 ) <.ac.lligcm.sc. .ta. .esahgm.> on Friday February 08, 2002 @04:07PM (#2976086) Homepage
    Here's some random video game trivia I picked up for the incredible book The Ultimate History of Video Games [amazon.com] to celebrate this good news!

    - The PacMan character shape was derived from the game designer looking at a pizza he ordered after eating one slice of it.

    - Pac Man was originally called "Puck Man" in Japan, but worried that american adolescents would deface the cabinets, replacing the 'P' with an 'F' to spell "Fuck Man", they changed the name.

    - Both Steve Jobs and The Woz used to work at Atari in its early years. Atari founder Nolan Buschnell (also the founder of Chuck E Cheese) was hesitant about hiring Steve Jobs because he literally smelled bad and looked like a "20 year old ho chi minh". It turned out that almost everything Jobs took credit for at Atari was stuff that Woz actually did, which leads me to ...

    - Atari gave Jobs the task of changing the design of one of their games (I forget which) to use less chips. Jobs then handed this task over to Woz. Jobs was promised a substantial bonus for every chip removed from the design, and he promised Woz half of this bonus. Woz's design was brilliant and removed something like 75 chips, which led to a bonus of something like 50 grand. Jobs gave Woz 500 bucks and told him that was half the total bonus. By fucking over his best friend, Jobs now had some capital to go and start Apple.

    -The name "Donkey Kong" came from the Japanese designer (Miyamoto? I forget) trying to translate "Stubborn Gorrilla". He looked up "Stubborn" and saw "Donkey" as part of the translation and went with it.

    -Magnavox designed the first video game console, the "Odyssey".

    -"Atari" means "check" in the context of the japanese game Go.

    -The company Namco got its big start by the illegal bootlegging of Atari arcade machines for the Japanese market.

    -Space Invaders was such a hit in Japan that it caused a national coin shortage.

    -The company name "COLECO" stands for "Colorado Leather Company". They also invented Cabbage Patch Kids.

    Now, it is possible there's some factual errors above (don't have the book on me right now so I'm working on memory), so feel free to correct me!

    (RANT)All that said, people, please go and support your local arcades. The arcade industry is DYING and it seems that nothing is being done because home video games are being so damn successful. I truly miss the days when arcade developers had significant R&D budgets and were capable of releasing arcade games that looked and played far better than anything you could play at home. I miss the days when I'd think how great it would be to be able to play those games at home. It just saddens me that 2d arcade style games are dying as a genre, and people keep unfairly comparing them to their 3d counterparts. and I don't care what you say, games like Metal Slug, Street Fighter 3, and Last Blade 2 have _FAR_ better graphics than any 3d first person shooter!!!!(/RANT)

    And one more thing ... MAME on a fast PC with an X-Arcade [x-arcade.com] = the best video game console out there!

    • Re:Fun Video Game Trivia (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      "Atari" means "win" in Japanese. It doesn't have to do with the game Go at all, except that they use the word in the game.

      arcade industry is DYING and it seems that nothing is being done because home video games are being so damn successful.

      Konami is killing in the arcade business because of its line of Bemani games. Most notable of these is Dance Dance Revolution. Games where you only have to wiggle a joystick translate well to the console. Games where you have to move around a lot stay in the arcade.
      • I don't know Japanese but according to the gamespot article [gamespot.com] on the history of video games, Atari in Japanese, in reference to the game Go, has an equivalent meaning to the word check, in chess.

        I've also seen this reference to the origins of Atari's name in other places also. So when Bushnell started Atari, it probably what he meant.
        • One good hint about the word Atari is what Nolan Buschnell called his newer video game company after leaving Atari. He called it "Sente", which in Japanese means "checkmate" in Go.
    • incarnations of Metal Slug, Street Fighter 3, and Last Blade 2 are all available on home consoles.

      where arcades are really picking up is the bemani games. beatmania, dance dance revolution, para para paradise and other such games. these games rely heavily on the "public" aspect. people put on shows, they dance, they move, when you get off the stage, people applaud. thats how arcades are pulling people in these days, as no home console mirrors the effect of arcade bemani.
    • How do you expect us to support arcades when they are virtually extinct, just like roller rinks? It's sad to see such great things from the early 1980s totally gone now.
    • Go is NOT a Japanese game. If you want to resort to is origin, it is a Chinese game. Very complicated and very fun too. :)

    • And if you were actually born in the late 60's and actually lived through the 80's, you probably remember:

      - That Sears (!) sold their own version of the Atari 2600. I remember hanging out with my buddies in the Sears hardware department, playing the 2600 for hours on end on Saturday afternoons.

      - That the malls (having become quite popular) were the best places for playing the 2600 or Intellivisions when you didn't actually have one of your own. I remember walking down to Carsons (or Bergners as it was known in the small, Illinois town where I grew up) from Sears and playing Intellivision when we were sick of the Atari.

      - And when we were sick of the Atari and Intellivision, we'd head on down to the Aladdin's Castle arcade, where we'd line the Donkey Kong and Pac Man machines with our tokens and pretty stay there into the evening drinking Orange Julius' and playing pattern after pattern of Pac-Man. (We'd of course memorized all the patterns for all the screens.)

      - And when we'd tire of Pac-Man and Donkey, we'd play Tron and Wizard of Wor. I don't know why, but I think of all games from that time, Tron was my favorite. We become so enamored of the light-cycles in tron that we'd go home and code up (in Z80 assembly language, no less) our own version of the light cycle game on the TRS-80's we had.

      - And yeah: that was the other cool thing at the mall in our town: Radio Shack. With the TRS-80 Model II (using the 8 inch floppies) and the TRS-80 Model III (with 48K ram!) we'd use the little acoustic modem to call to couple cool BBS systems.

      Looking back, I can't believe how much (a) money I spent in arcades in the early 80's and (b) how much time my buddies and I spent at the local mall, going from the Ataris to the Intellvisions to the Aladdin's Castle and then back again. Unbelievable!

      And the Sears in our mall, actually had an mini-arcade in the back of the store. Had about 10 stand up games like Scramble and Sinistar and Berzerk -- sort of grade-B games, I guess, but I thought they all kicked ass. We'd shove slugs up the coin return on the machines and give ourselves endless credits. LOL.

      Damn, whatever happened to Orange Julius? There was nothing better then a big Orange Julius and one of their yummy-licious hot-dogs! (And the pretzels covered in chocolate.)

      • Ahhh.. did this bring back memories. Wizard of Wor! I can still hear that f*cker after he killed you "I am the Wizard of Wor. HA. HA. HA. HA...." This while the bastards kept running over your corpse (repsented by little deteriorating dots). I had a lot of fun last year playing this with my son on MAME.

    • Re:Fun Video Game Trivia (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      All that said, people, please go and support your local arcades.
      ...
      And one more thing ... MAME on a fast PC with an X-Arcade [x-arcade.com] = the best video game console out there!

      Uh huh...

    • It's no wonder arcades are dying. The days of being able to enter an arcade, pop in your credits, and beat the game are over.


      Look at most of the racing or shooting games...you gives yer money, you play one race, you place whereever, and then the game is over. It's usually 30-60 seconds of entertainment...and it's often a dollar a game. Nobody I know can afford to just go dropping 60 bucks an HOUR on a game, no matter how fun it is.


      Arcades are killing themselves.

    • Actually, Jobs got 5 grand(not 50). He gae Woz,250(I think, maybe 350) for his "half". Woz's design was so complex, they didn't understand how it worked, so they need to redesign it anyways!
      come to thi of it,
      sounds like every contractor I've ever worked with!
    • All that said, people, please go and support your local arcades.

      Too many teenage punks.

  • Increase in wrecked cars as well? (Score:5, Funny)

    by sunhou ( 238795 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @04:09PM (#2976101)
    Are there any statistics about corresponding increases in car wrecks? I bought a PS2 just for Grand Theft Auto 3 (and also bought a bunch of other games); so I definitely spent way more on games in 2001 than I have in years.

    But now when I'm driving around (I'm in a somewhat rural area), when I see a good pile of dirt by the side of the road, I feel a little tempted to floor it and see if I can complete a Unique Jump, preferably without landing upside down, so my car doesn't burst into flames and explode. Thank god there aren't any rocket launchers lying around on the side of the road.

  • Software Piracy (Score:1, Insightful)

    by butch812 ( 529419 )
    With all this piracy going on, and yet they still make money.

    How is that possible?
    Video game industry should stop bitching about piracy

  • $9.4 billion is a far nicer figure than the already fun $8.1 billion that was purported earlier (beating the domestic US motion picture gross by $100 million).


  • $9.4 Billion isn't a shocking number, especially when you consider the major things that have happened this year. You, of course, have Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube driving huge sales dollars.

    On the PC side, you have crazy things happening, like Wolfenstein Shipping over 1 Million Copies [edgereport.com]. Then you think about the gross dollars being generated on SINGLE games, it's staggering. Consider now a published like Activision has dozens in its portfolio.

    Look also at the franchise opportunites these games present. The Sims and its add-ons held spots 1, 2, 8, and 9 on the Top Selling U.S. PC Games [edgereport.com] for the week of January 5th.

    In Korea, there's a $300 Million market for cybercafes. What are we spending our money on? Games, apparently.

    And consider this: now that Xbox is in the livingroom, there's an entertainment platform ready for expansion in many MANY households now. The industry is only going to grow.

    --

  • Not a penny of it is mine (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Mr. Sketch ( 111112 ) <`mister.sketch' `at' `gmail.com'> on Friday February 08, 2002 @04:35PM (#2976243)
    I'm not sure if international sales count in this, but the only game I've bought this year was Uplink [introversion.co.uk] that was featured on Slashdot. Other than that, nothing else has really caught my attention in the gaming market. Maybe if they came out with something new and interesting I might buy it.

    What the game companies need to do is figure out innovative ways to break out of standard genres like FPS or RTS, which is probably why I liked Uplink and probably why The Sims did so well, because they aren't standard genres that have been rehashed over and over again and are just getting old now.

    • Uhhhhh....wha?? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Sarcasmooo! ( 267601 )
      Just off the top of my head, Max Payne and Black & White.

      Both blew my mind, and were a lot better than one more half-life expansion.
    • If you like CRPG, then Arcanum is definitely worth the cash. IMO, it's one of the best (and most original) computer role-playing games ever, right up there with Wasteland and Fallout.

      If you don't like RPG, well, what the fuck.
  • This is strange...People a few weeks back were talking about how much money is in the console market, but judging from the numbers(correct me if I'm misinterpeting them), the PC industry made up almost 2/3 of the games market total!

    Methinks MS just wants a bigger slice of the pie with the X-BOX, considering they control the PC market, but aren't guaranteed a piece of the profits games companies are making.

  • PC market made more money? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by bwalling ( 195998 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @04:42PM (#2976307) Homepage
    The article mentions that the number for the console market ($9.4B) includes hardware, which in the console industry is sold at a loss.

    The PC number ($6B) did not include hardware. I have no idea how much hardware was sold, but there are some pieces of hardware that were sold solely for the purpose of gaming (I know you didn't purchase that GeForce 3 Ti 500 to browse the Net). Is it possible that the PC market is actually bigger than the console market? Of course, it would be very difficult to ever nail down PC hardware figures.

  • The Reason The Sims is so popular (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Rayonic ( 462789 ) on Friday February 08, 2002 @05:20PM (#2976629) Homepage Journal
    Is because it appeals to women. Not to say men don't like it, but it appeals to women in a BIG WAY. It's like a virtual dollhouse, except much more advanced and you don't lose any of the pieces.

    Really, I've seen them do all sorts of imaginative/mentally-unhealthy things with the game. From spending hours creating their virtual dreamhouse to throwing the perfect party to hooking up their virtual persona with a virtual Justin Timberlake.

    I mean, can you really think of any better, more efficient way to foster unrealistic expectations of life than The Sims? God bless innovation! ;)
    • The way the number of males and females registering The Sims changed over time was interesting.

      First mostly males were registering The Sims, as with most computer games. Then after a little while, there was a sudden jump in the number of females registering, which steadily grew more steeply than the number of males, for a long time.

      One theory is that males are the early adoptors, who go out and buy games based on commercial advertising. The females see the males playing it, and try it themselves. Then they spread the word about it by recommendation person to person, instead of instantly responding to mass media advertising like the males.

      The legal issues worked out nicely about the character skins like Justin Timberlake and Spiderman. It turns out that Maxis is not legally responsible for any of the fans making and distributing their own images of celebrities and copyrighted characters. Maxis keeps their hands clean by creating their own original characters (which is much healthier for the franchise anyway, than shilling out product placements), and they always get permission for everything they distribute with the game.

      The "celebrity visitor" skin in House Party was made with Drew Carey's permission and cooperation, but you have to go to the fan sites to find Justin Timberlake or Spider Man.

      If you really want to know the underlying hidden agenda of The Sims, read Philip K Dick's short story "The Life and Times of Perky Pat", and novel "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch".

      -Don

    • excellent observation!
      The Sims doesn't interest me, but now that I think of it, my wife has stopped to look at it in the store, and actually read a srticle or 2 about it.
      Both those are important when you relize my wife has never done either before. She is one of those people that is interested, she would do really well in the IT industry. But computer don't really interest her. As a computer guy, that can be really frustrating. I mean she'll have an error that would have most users in a panic, she just solves it. And if she can't she know exactlyy what she did, so when I show up I can undo something she may have done.

  • that for the last 10 years the industry has been telling us it is fixing to fall off the face of the planet due to massive pirating, thus mandating the use of annoying, but (not) highly effective copy-protection measures like SafeDisk (TM).

  • Okay, lets intelligently look at why they're claiming that the gaming industry is doing so well (in terms of dollars):

    Three new consoles came out within the last 6 quarters. They obviously make up a good percentage of the money made (gross, not net, if we're to assume the units were sold at a loss). And with new consoles come new games, ergo another percentage.

    Also, you have to take into account that consoles, games, perhipherals, etc cost WAY more than they used to. That in itself is why its a 'good year' for gaming, because companies made a lot of money. But how about the numbers of units sold, not the total sales figure? It could be that there really isn't as large an interest in gaming this year than normal (whatever that is), but since the stuff costs so much, the gaming companies made more this year than ever.

    If I was a marketing exec for one of these gaming companies, I'd be paying more attention to the number of units sold than anything else. Profits are not an accurate gauge of how well you are doing in pushing your product, believe it or not. Thats how you ensure your survival, by increasing unit sales, not unit price. Blah.

    I sure wouldn't invest in a company that is bragging about this year's profits, but rather would go with a company that is able to show where its at, and where it expects to be, and how so. $9B in sales is no good if you're only $2B clear and you haven't paid anyone yet.

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