Video Game Sales Flat at GameStop

JAN. 9, 2012 • For the nine week period ending Dec. 31, retailer GameStop reported that overall sales were flat at $3.02 billion, compared to the same period last year. Game software sales did grow to 10% to $1.47 billion, but game hardware sales dropped 20%. Other growth areas included digital sales (60%), and used games (3.5%). In the U.K., music, video and game retailer HMV saw its total sales for the same nine week period drop 9.8%. While DVD sales remained .....

Japan Game Market Shrinks

JAN. 5, 2012 • According to Japanese publisher Enterbrain, the Japan game market contracted ¥459 billion ($5.9 billion), or 8%. The contraction is the fourth such year-on-year drop in a row.  Hardware sales, however, grew 2.4% to ¥179 billion ($2.3 billion). .....

Star Wars: The Old Republic Draws 1 Million Players

DEC. 26, 2011 • During it first week in release, Star Wars: The Old Republic attracted more than 1 million players worldwide. Electronic Arts, the MMO’s publisher, needs the game to be highly successful to recoup its investment. The Old Republic is oft accused of being the most expensive computer game ever made. If true, BioWare developed title would have cost more to produce than Grand Theft Auto IV, which had a budget of $100 million. .....

Kindle Sales Top 1 Million A Week

DEC. 15, 2011 • In the weeks leading into Christmas, Amazon.com announced that it was selling more than 1 million Kindle devices a week worldwide. The online retailer would not say how many of those units sold were the new Fire model. Amazon had never previously announced any sales numbers for its e-reader devices. Impact: The e-reader devices like the Fire and Barnes and Noble’s Nook Co.....

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Ships 7 Million

NOV. 16, 2011 • According to ZeniMax Media Inc., 7 million units of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim were shipped to retailers for the game’s launch. The publisher did not break down how many of those copies were distributed between PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 systems. ZeniMax says more than 50% of the units shipped were sold during the first 48 hours after the title was released on Nov. 11, and more than 280,000 concurrent users were playing. .....

Angry Birds at 500 Million Downloads

NOV. 2, 2011 • Since it release in 2009, Rovio Mobile’s Angry Birds has registered more than 500 million downloads on various platforms. Rovio also says 300 million minutes a day are played in the game globally. That popularity has enabled the developer to ship more than 10 million Angry Birds toys across the world, and even publish a cookbook. Impact: Angry Birds is clearly a huge multi.....