Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group- Video Games

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Studies show that the video gaming industry has not been doing well.  The sales have dropped and don’t seem to they will have a comeback any time soon.  The industry has been dropping sales of video game software, the physical games themselves, the consoles, controllers, everything!

“According to the latest numbers from NPD Group, sales of games, hardware and accessories fell 25% year-over-year in October from $1 billion in 2011 to 755.5 million, Bloomberg reported.”  

http://bit.ly/VXNAUm

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group- Video Games

The games aren’t the only factors that play a role in the gaming industry.  The gaming consoles are not selling as well as they use to either.  Although the Xbox was a Dog when it first came out, the Xbox Connect now plays the Star.  “For the 22nd consecutive month, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console was the best-selling gaming system, although sales declined 31% from 393,000 in October 2011 to 270,000 in 2012.” http://bit.ly/VXNAUm This is a breakdown of where I feel these consoles actually stand currently according to The BCG Growth-Share matrix:

Xbox - Dog

Xbox Connect – Star

Wii – Dog, no more than a cash cow

Wii U – Dog

Playstation Veda  - Dog (pretty much for al handhelds)

IOS mobile platform (android/tablet) – Star

PC – Dog

The gaming industry is losing sales not only from lack of interest, but also from other matters.  “Sales for video games and consoles are falling steadily every year, and many are pointing to the competition from cheaper alternatives like digital game downloads for smartphones and tablets as the leading cause.”  http://bit.ly/Xy5c9m This tells me that the sport of play games itself, but the purchasing of games is a factor.  It goes hand in hand with artists not making as much money they use to due to music downloading sites and CD burning abilities.  The audience is still there when it comes to having an interest for games. 

The economy plays a role in the outcome of the industry as well.  The economy is going through a tough time right now and people just can’t afford the expensive games like they use to.  People are putting themselves in a “saving” mode.  They don’t want to spend $65 on a game they can dowload for free.  The average cost of a game is anywhere from $40-$75.  This is pretty pricey compared to free. 

The gaming industry has many diffwerent factors invloved in its decline.  The industry looks like the only way it will survive would be if it comes out with something new that really grabs their audience.  Whether it be some new game console that is uncompareable, or an awesome new game.