Video Game Sales Drop Isn’t a Mystery

THIS is the biggest title out right now.

There’s an article over at WSJ right now that claims that the industry everyone thought was immune to the economic downturn is in fact, mortal after all. The video game industry dropped 29% last month, and now analysts are wringing their hands, not knowing what to make of the suprising numbers.

So what’s the deal? Are consumers finally tired of spending $60 on games, and they’re all sitting at home reading books now instead? Unlikely.

To me the answer seems pretty obvious. The past few months, there have simply not been many good games that have been released. It sounds stupid to say, but it’s true. There haven’t been any “blockbuster” titles for months now, and I think that’s just finally catching up in the sales figures. When Wii Sports Resort is the biggest release since February, it’s inevitable that at some point, people will have finished buying all the old good games, and are simply waiting for this fall’s massive crop of hits to come out.

Maybe I’m wrong and I’m being a disgrace to my econ degree, but I don’t think there’s anything sinister going on here. It’s like when people decry that this Memorial Day weekend movie ticket sales were down over last Memorial Day weekend. Ever stop to think it’s just because the movie was worse?

Also: Wall Street Journal, “video game” has never been, nor will be, one word. Thanks.