14 DAY TRIAL // Newzoo, a firm that specializes in market research, has released a new report which shows that customers based in the United States are projected to have spend 24.7 billion dollars on video games in 2010, a figure that is 2 percent lower than the one registered in 2009.
The company points out that the figure includes just the money spent on actual video games and does not include sales for hardware like PCs and gaming console, and it is not taking into account sums spent on accessories.
The figures from Newzoo show that the figure spent on console games, including downloadable content and handheld releases, has reached 10.6 billion dollars, which is 43% of the total for 2010 and about 29 percent lower than it was during last year.
Gaming on the PC and on the Mac as expressed through boxed sales has attracted 2.1 billion from gamers, which is again down over 2009 by about 19 percent.
All these decreases have fueled important increases in gaming money spent on MMOs, casual games, mobile gaming on smartphones, social network gaming and digitally distributed titles for the PC and the Mac.
The figures are further proof that the gaming landscape is seeing some fundamental shifts and that the traditional model of selling boxed copies for PC and home consoles is losing important ground.
On the United Kingdom market, total gaming spending in 2010 is being estimated to reach 3.7 billion Pounds, which is the equivalent of about 5.7 billion dollars, 3 percent lower than during 2009.
Peter Warman, who is the managing director at Newzoo, has told Gamasutra that, “Our data shows consumers are not simply moving away from console games, but spreading their budget across more platforms,”
He added, “Their choice of game genre and platform depends on time, place, social setting and the need they are seeking to satisfy at that moment.”