The signs of the coming apocalypse grow more frequent for packaged gaming goods with today’s news from the Entertainment Merchants Association. New sales data suggests that only 71% of games purchased were from a boxed unit in 2010. This is way down from 2009’s number of 80 to 90%.
Digital distribution on the other hand saw a major increase, with 44% of homes in the U.S. reporting purchasing a game online. That number is expected to increase to 58% by 2013.
The EMA also highlighted the use statistics for the home consoles, noting that 40% of the time a console is not being used for gaming. The PS3 with its Blu-ray capabilities are a strong contender for use, as well as Netflix’s streaming service.
These numbers are not necessarily bad, says the EMA. Such numbers demonstrate that physical sales are still king of the hill, even if they're somewhat diminished.
"The home entertainment industry should be encouraged by the strong consumer support for packaged media demonstrating that discs and digital content will coexist in the foreseeable future," said EMA president and CEO Bo Andersen.
