US games market experiences huge upturn
Three new platforms combine with PS2 sales to awesome effect
Following the launch of the GameCube, the GameBoy Advance and the Xbox, the American games market has witnessed tremendous growth over the past twelve months.
Hardware sales per-unit rose by 39% and increased a staggering 120% in dollar sales. Games software sales in the region increased to $6 billion, up from $5.4 billion in 2000.
Though both Microsoft and Nintendo are both eager to glorify their new home machines in this news, the real driving force behind the market is still Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s portable offerings.
PC sales were also strong. “Sales in the PC game sector during 2001 were largely driven by a handful of proven franchises and correlating sequels or expansion sets," said Steve Koenig, senior software analyst at NPDTechworld. "As a result, the market for PC games managed to achieve relatively good growth in 2001, despite the gaming industry's strong focus on the console business during the last half of the year," he added.
Hardware sales per-unit rose by 39% and increased a staggering 120% in dollar sales. Games software sales in the region increased to $6 billion, up from $5.4 billion in 2000.
Though both Microsoft and Nintendo are both eager to glorify their new home machines in this news, the real driving force behind the market is still Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s portable offerings.
PC sales were also strong. “Sales in the PC game sector during 2001 were largely driven by a handful of proven franchises and correlating sequels or expansion sets," said Steve Koenig, senior software analyst at NPDTechworld. "As a result, the market for PC games managed to achieve relatively good growth in 2001, despite the gaming industry's strong focus on the console business during the last half of the year," he added.
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