Are Video Games Dying?

Published by on July 9, 2010 | 9 Comments

Is the video game industry going down the drain? Well, according to industry analyst Michael Pachter, yeah, it is. Pachter believes that the gaming industry is going the way of the dinosaurs because, “publishers and developers of games have created more robust multiplayer content in recent years that has resulted in core gamers playing the same games for much longer, on average, than they did in the past, leading to lower sales of new games.” Yep that’s right, you can blame games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty for being soooo good that they’re crippling the entire industry.

Pachter also points out that several new games like Alan Wake, Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Blur, Shrek Forever After, Iron Man 2, and Skate 3 sold fewer than 200,000 copies. According to Pachter, “the packaged goods business is in a state of decline, and that packaged products will continue to compete with alternative interactive entertainment experiences such as Facebook games and iPhone games.” But does that mean the gaming industry is gearing up for the apocalypse?

No, I don’t think so. Yes, fewer people are buying physical copies of games, but somewhere, out there, other people are buying expansion packs to add to their “robust” multiplayer experience. Maybe Pachter got it wrong, maybe the video game biz isn’t dying, perhaps it’s just evolving. DLC has been in the spotlight for some time now and many developers are just starting to realize its usefulness. So what do you think? Is the industry just shifting formats, are games with online multiplayer stifling sales, or is Facebook and other electronic media twisting the proverbial knife in the gaming industry’s back? If you ask me, I think it was Miss Scarlet, in the Library, with the candlestick.

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  • Johnlou1983

    Nothing new, PC gaming has already seen this trend. Games tend to hold a large community look at Starcraft, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Counterstrike, the list goes on and on. It makes no sense, to play a different game and risk wasting 50 bucks when you have no idea if its any good.

  • davethesodaguy

    if, in 30 years or more, wewant to be proud of what we have done as gamers so the industry will not bethis mess that it is right now.

    First we must change how videogames are sold.

    We need a broader demographic,we can’t rely on our fanboyism and keep defending “nintendo, microsoft,sony, sega or whatever the hell company is your favourite” like they’rethe origin of life. Selling a video game for 2000 dollars in some countries isnot the answer. We also need to stop with exclusivity and how every couple ofyears we get a new console or some new shit for it.

    You don’t see other, moresuccessful, medias, like movies, for example, selling their products on a”oh, this game is only for this new console that just came up and it coststhe price of your soul” policy. You don’t see the movie industry doingthat. You don’t see a movie being released for just a few select dvd players,do you?

    This only shows us that thegaming industry is a money grabbing no good piece of shit.

    If video games are to beconsidered a true form of art, it still needs to be much more democratic thanit is, and selling gimmicky shit every year is not the way

    • Sean [RTG]

      I quote you on the select movies release for a few DVD players.

      Exclusives exist.

      Avatar 3D Blu-Ray is a timed exclusive to Panasonic

      But I see where you’re coming from, however, exclusives exist to differentiate the consoles, it’s not the movie market, the games market is different.

  • http://twitter.com/SwiftGlassEater Joseph Bryant

    I hear that. Cull the weak from the herd, right? Lord knows how many times I've paid that price just to suffer more of the same mediocrity…

  • http://twitter.com/SwiftGlassEater Joseph Bryant

    I hear that. Cull the weak from the herd, right? Lord knows how many times I’ve paid that price just to suffer more of the same mediocrity…

  • Tre211

    I have a feeling that the the lower sales on certain titles is going to be a good thing. the gaming industry has needed to evolve. I hope this trend will force companys to dump the lame games and spend more time on getting the big titles rite. Im tired of dropping 60$ on games that had potential just to be disapointed

  • OG JUST BLAZE

    I agree, personally i think that this is a good thing it forces developers to create better and more enjoyable experience in the games they make. If you look at some of the games that sold fewer copies they lacked many essentials that the bigger titles have. As for DLC i personal hate micro transactions but i can put up with them as long as their worth it, I don't wanna pay 800 Microsoft points for 3 maps that im not gonna like and dread playing or a cheese extension to a bad story. On the other hand there are DLC that are great just look at Elder Scrolls Oblivion Shivering isles, yes it was a bit pricey but it was defiantly worth it.

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  • http://twitter.com/SwiftGlassEater Joseph Bryant

    People do seem to really invest in their favorite games and rarely tread other genres…

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