14 DAY TRIAL // An analyst who is watching the video game industry has said that because of the popularity of multiplayer gaming companies will have to think of ways of monetizing it in order to create new revenue streams that can supplement falling retail sales.
Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Morgan, believes that the video game industry will see falling sales for both video games and software reported for the month of August and says that one of the big culprits is the fact that gamers are enjoying multiplayer modes and are not motivated to spend money on new title.
The analyst stated, “We remain convinced that the popularity of online multiplayer gaming has caused a decline in overall packaged product sales, and we expect this decline to persist unless the publishers change the multiplayer model.”
He added, “While we expect the publishers to continue to offer free multiplayer content that is similar in quality to what is offered today; we expect the publishers to channel their efforts on improvements to multiplayer by offering a premium subscription service, in the hopes of driving an ever- increasing number of customers to a pay service.”
In a way publisher are already moving in that direction, with Electronic Arts introducing new Online Passes for its sports simulation titles, which allow only first time buyers to have full access to multiplayer modes, with those who pick the games up used having to pay 10 dollars for the privilege.
Microsoft already charges for multiplayer services with the Gold tier of its Xbox Live service, which is getting a price hike during the fall, and Sony has also introduced the subscription powered PlayStation Plus initiative, while pledging to keep basic multiplayer free for all those gaming on the PlayStation 3.
Of course, a more elegant solution would be for publishers to simply sell single player and multiplayer sections of their video games separately, allowing gamers to pick and choose the experience they like.