14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that a gaming console does not become a universally wanted shopping item until someone is desperate enough to pepper spray a crowd of fellow shoppers in order to get his hands on it.
Jesse Divnich, who is an analyst watching the video game industry for EEDAR, told IndustryGamers that, “I believe once someone starts pepper spraying a crowd of people to obtain an Xbox 360, you know you’re a must have holiday item.”
The analyst believes that in the coming month sales for all major console manufacturers will increase, with Microsoft and Nintendo managing both to outsell Sony.
The 3DS will get more than half of the handheld market in the coming months while the Xbox 360 will continue to shine in the home console category.
He added, “We really need to be realistic about holiday expectations. We are going into the 2011 holiday season down single digits in the physical markets and we’d be crazy to think the spirit of the holiday season will lift us to positive comps for the year.”
The worldwide economic crisis has affected video gaming, which was once thought to be recession proof, during 2011 and overall sales of both hardware and software have struggled to overtake those seen during last year.
Retail was also affected by the increase in digital sales, which have become an important element for all major publishers.
Analysts believe that the industry will see an increase in both hardware and software sales during the month of November and December, as shoppers are lured by big discounts for home consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 and by a number of new bundles.
December 20 will also see the launch of the last big video game of the year, the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, from BioWare and Electronic Arts.