JPR predicts PC gaming hardware will reach $27 Billion in 2010

According to Jon Peddie Research, PC gaming hardware will reach $27 Billion in 2010 and the results are (of course) better than previously expected. The worldwide PC gaming hardware market (which includes PC systems, accessories, and upgrades) is forecasted to gain $1.2 billion for 2009, which is a 5.9% increase versus 2008 (from $20.07 to $21.26 billion). The increase is due to higher than anticipated consumer demand for enthusiast, performance, and mainstream hardware - strongly influenced by the ability to play video games.

Due to what JPR says, significant growth across all major markets in the worldwide PC gaming hardware sector are expected to climb 30 percent in 2010. Senior Video Game Industry Analyst at JPR, Ted Pollak, credits this growth to a number of key factors:

“The largest influence on the high forecasted growth rate is due to purchasing delays for systems and upgrades in 2008/2009 as consumers circled the wagons and took a conservative position on discretionary spending. A recovering economy, processing advancements, and higher quality gaming offerings will all contribute to a healthy year for PC gaming hardware in 2010.”

“The PC gaming market continues to be the high growth, and technological leader for home entertainment. With Windows 7 and DirectX 11, advanced and exciting physics, and stereovision capabilities, the PC platform is far and away the most advanced,” noted Jon Peddie President of Jon Peddie Research. “And, the PC has the added advantage that when not used for gaming, it can be used for more practical purposes, and/or as a media center.”

The data comes from the Worldwide PC Gaming Hardware Market report series by Jon Peddie Research. It comes in three very expensive flavors: Enthusiast, Performance, and Mainstream versions, with each version selling for $5,000 and the set of three for $12,000. Find out more about it by visiting www.jonpeddie.com.

Survey finds video games top holiday wish lists

PS3 Slim selling well in the UK, Japan

According to Famitsu, the new PS3 Slim’s design and pricepoint are a hit with Japanese gamers, who have bought over a 150,000 units in Japan in the first three days of launch last Friday. Meanwhile in the UK, ChartTrack reports

Earlier today, Chart-Track confirmed with VG247 that PS3 sales in the United Kingdom were up a whopping 1,000 percent.

If Sony can keep up this momentum in Europe and Japan and here in North America, then we might just have a contentious fight on our hands for second place in this generation’s cycle of consoles. Of course, as an example, the Xbox 360 saw some modest gains in the UK as well in that same week.

We’ll see how both systems did later this week when NPD Group releases numbers for North America.

Xbox 360 Elite, Pro price cuts finally official

As predicted, Microsoft officially announced what has been rumored for months: the price of an Xbox 360 Elite console will drop by $100, to a $299.99 estimated retail price in the United States. The Xbox 360 Pro will now be priced at $249.99 (ERP), reflecting a price reduction of $50, while supplies last - because there are no future plans to continue with this model going forward. Finally the Arcade SKU will be priced at $199.99 (ERP). Microsoft also emphasized that the “Xbox 360 you buy today” will work with Project Natal, its controller-free gaming solution..

“With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s already time to start looking for entertainment and gifts that everyone will enjoy,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of strategy and business development for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. “If you’re looking for deep experiences that don’t require deep pockets, now is the time to purchase an Xbox 360. We’ve got the best games, a vast library of TV shows and movies, new music experiences, more ways to connect friends and family, and so much more on the horizon including ‘Project Natal’ — no controller required.”

Of course Shane Kim might have wanted to say something like “Hey Sony, is that my finger in your eye?” or “the PS3 Slim and price cut won’t save you” because this move is obviously an attempt to dampen any momentum Sony might have gotten with cutting the price of the PS3 and the Slim SKU.

Video game industry sales decline by 29 percent inJuly

According to retail sales data from NPD Group revenue for the video game industry saw a major decline, finally putting to bed the question of whether or not the sector was in fact recession proof. A certain analyst whose name I won’t mention might have said that once, but you won’t hear such utterances from him about that now. It has been the fifth month that the interactive entertainment has seen a decline, according to NPD. Total sector revenue was $848.9 million, down dramatically from $1.2 billion a year ago.

Analysts expected a 15 percent decline in game, console and accessories spending in July, but what they got was nearly double that - a 29 percent drop overall. Hardware sales were the biggest losers in July, with a major decline in Nintendo Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 sales. The Nintendo Wii saw a 54 percent drop in sales, the PS3 a 45 percent drop and the Xbox 360 was off by 10 percent. Hardware sales amounted to $280.9 million in July (a 37 percent decline), down from $447.7 million a year ago.

Analysts are saying that it is probably necessary for Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft to start thinking about cutting the prices of their respective systems, but Nintendo and Sony probably won’t - or at least that is what both have been saying for quite some time. We’ll see.

Japanese hardware sales - May 11 - 17, 2009

Media Create has released hardware sales numbers for last week and it’s not good news. The average decline across all platforms was almost 35 percent. Chalk this up to a lack of system selling software or a general feeling of consumer indifference to video games, but it is not a good trend for the market. I hope that next week’s numbers will not be so depressing.

The DSi continued to top the sales charts, with the PSP coming in a close second, followed by the Wii, PS3, DS Lite, PS2 and Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 is just didn’t sell too well during a week when consumers seems to be uncertain that spending money on concoles and games is a good idea.. or maybe i’m just reading too much into this week’s numbers.

1. DSi 34,152 units - down 38.33
2. PSP 28,683 units - down 33.31 percent
3. Wii 15,116 units - down 38.04 percent
4. PS3 11,605 units - down 37.21 percent
5. DS Lite 4,888 units - down 37.50 percent
6. PS2 4,020 units - down 21.74 percent
7. Xbox 360 3,233 units - down 36.21 percent

Source

February’s Top Selling Hardware

Well it should come as no surprise that the Wii and the DS were the top selling hardware in the month of February (according to sales data from NPD Group), buoyed by better supply at top retailers like Gamestop and top selling software like Wii Fit, Wii Play, Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario. Bros. Meanwhile Street Fighter IV certainly didn’t hurt sales of the Xbox 360, while Capcom’s beat ‘em up and Killzone 2 helped the PS3 hit a respectable 273,000 units. The list is rounded out by the PSP at almost 200,000 units and the PS2 moving 131,000 units in February.

Console Hardware Sales, February 2009

1. Nintendo Wii - 753,000 Units
2. Nintendo DS - 588,000 Units
3. Xbox 360 - 391,000 Units
4. PlayStation 3 - 276,000 Units
5. PlayStation Portable - 199,000 Units
6. PlayStation 2 - 131,000 Units