14 DAY TRIAL // A new report is saying that on the United States market, there were 1,099 videogame titles released, which is a little bit more than the 1,092 which came during 2008. This increase, which is slightly unexpected in a tough year for the videogaming industry, will probably be sustained in 2010 as more titles compete for smaller budgets on the part of gamers. The report does not count those videogames delivered only via download channels.
Jesse Divnich, who is an analyst with EEDAR, has told GameSpot that “For just the current generation home consoles (PS3/360/Wii), 2009's release quantities increase the total availability of games to consumers by 55 percent. Unless retail shelf space grows by the same amount - and it won't – then the retail shelf life for an average game decreases dramatically.”
The fact that there are some franchises, like Call of Duty and Gran Theft Auto, around 50 in all, that get permanent spots on the shelves of specialized stores means that low-profile games and new intellectual properties tend to have smaller and smaller time frames during which they can attract customers, making the industry more competitive. This trend is clearly reflected in the fact that most new releases have brought in less revenue in 2009 then in previous years.
The biggest increase in volume of releases has been for the Nintendo Wii home console and the DS handheld, reflecting an understanding on the part of developers and publishers that the install base and ease of use of the Nintendo-made platforms can lead to big sales.
In 2010, players might see some new services, like OnLive and Gaikai, debut and bring more titles to them without the need for a game disk, while publishers such as Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have already announced they might focus on putting out less videogames but of higher quality, in an effort to drive down costs while increasing revenue.