There's been a lot of talk recently about how movie ticket sales were down last year. What you may not have heard is that video games sales were also down 8% compared to the previous year. While some people may claim this is a sign of the end of console gaming or the movement towards social gaming, The Sess strongly disagrees! In this week's Soapbox, Adam will explain why he thinks sales were down last year and why he's not worried about the future of traditional gaming.
Don't Panic! Games Aren't Dying - Sessler's Soapbox »
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Hydronide
Adam looks kinda like Max Payne nao.
UNEMPLOYEDxxxxJEDI
Adam new looks, make him look more bad ass.
Funk_Doc
Like the beard and shaved head. Makes you look younger and if you work in the entertainment industry and especially the video game industry and keep your cred the last thing you wanna look is old. I say keep it even though some say you look like Hugo Strange but I say you look more like the new Max Payne. So using Xplay's new rating system that would make old Adam roll over in his grave I give your new look a 4.5 out of 5.
lilgremlin
How is the Soapbox NOT about SOPA and PIPA? Basically idiot congressmen want to end the internet. And we are babbling about Richard Nixon and South American Farmers.....
H2OGoliath
Really, Adam? Was a pierced ear too much for you?
Jeprox
Fear the Beard
CustosIntusSilentium
Adam, put on a pair of glasses, and you are Hugo Strange. You have my respect, sir!
alexander.boyd40
I hate that lamp I really do. -.-
But Adam NPR really NPR!!!! you little bearded democrate liberal!!!
The only reason console sales are down is because everyone who was going to own a console already has one.
xplayfan1500
I agree with Mister Brown that gamers could be backlogged with games to play. It's going to be a while before I finish Skyrim, but what about Fallout 3? I never finished playing that game, and now I can buy it for $20 at Best Buy. Not to mention the increase of quality Xbox Live Arcade games, sure they're not very long, but they are really fun to play.
Funny thing Adam was I spent the weekend wondering something similar. However I didn't read the articles about game sales being down or the influx of social games. I watched an old episode of NOVA and a buisness term was mentioned. It's called a death-spiral, referring to the collapse of a business because of rising costs and decreased demand. Is it possible that console games market could have a death-spiral because of the rising costs of the production of games and game consoles?
People only have so much money to spend, and higher costs always mean more expensive price points. I belive it to be an unlikely scenario for the near future, but could it happen? Is there a reason other hardware makers haven't entered the console market?
campbelltoe23
grow out the beard to zz top quality!
Dr Professor
Let the haters hate, Adam; your new look is rad. Keep up the great work.
ZombieDestro
grow the mustache out! finish the beard Adam!!
BoydofZINJ
This reminds me of the Computer gaming market. How many times have you heard that Computer games are dead? Yet they are more computer sales of SKYRIM than consoles. Social games... is such an ugly phrase. Are not all Multiplayer games social type games? MMOS like WOW, RIFT, EVE Online, and SWTOR are social networks as well. Look at Battlefield 3 and Origins.... social?
Lastly, who want to play a water down version of a game for 5 minutes every 12 hours (like Facebook's Mafia)? While it has some appeal - I am more of a hardcore gamer. The super casuals may think Mafia is tough - but have them run an Imperial guild of 50 people who are all trying to level, pvp, and raid or a clan of 30 COD or Battlefield 3 FPS peeps and tell me they are not harder to control, interact, and play with than any facebook game?
AmericanKing01
I want to vomit when I see or hear the word social anywhere near the word game. Love Adam hate the Beard.
TD_ThA_MoNsTa
Couldn't agree with you more Mr. Sessler. Though I do think that social games could have a future on consoles (though like yourself, I'm also skeptical of the longevity of the social market), though for it to happen, both online networks of Sony and Microsoft would need to be fine tuned to make micro transactions work more seemlessly, as well as network infastructure within this country would need more investment to build a connection that could handle more traffic, and reach more people without having to implement moronic policy like data capping.
HELLFIRE11
His head hair is now face hair!
gamerjes
The industry goes through growing pains. Happens a lot, especially during economical troubles and 'new toy' syndrome. Happened when PCs made way for serious consoles gaming. Happened when consoles/PCs squeezed in real mobile gaming. Happened when stable online networking became the norm for consoles. Happening again with social gaming.
Gaming isn't going anywhere, nor more than movies are. But there will be change and there will be pain.
CareyGrant
Adam, the bald head is fierce!
MisterBrown
Anyone want to hypothesize that console sales may be down because they're running out of people to sell them to? I mean, especially in the case of the Wii, you HAVE to expect a drop in sales because everyone and their mom already owns one (regardless of what they're doing with it now). 360 and PS3 are going for a more select audience, but, in many ways, the members of that audience have already purchased their machines in the 6 years or so that the generation has been going on.
And another hypothesis on slumping software sales... Now that Gamestop can be stocked with 6 years worth of used, current-gen games, many on them of very high quality, anyone who's not the hardest of hardcore gamer might just be a bit backlogged. With so many titles to choose from and often with a budget, gamers just might have unexplored entertainment that they've missed upon release that can still supply dozens of hours of entertainment. I know my summer was engrossed by the first two Mass Effect games; who knows if anyone else had similar habits. Just a thought.
Barbuganot
Please wear round glasses and become Hugo Strange.
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