With November sales down in NPD's report, it put the final nail in the coffin for those that hoped that the final months of the year would bounce the industry over 2008 levels. DFC Intelligence acknowledged this in their latest report, though they see a silver lining in the next few years.
Digital distribution is serious business (or will be, at least).
“As for overall forecasts we are sad to report that we expect the global videogame and interactive entertainment industry to be down 12% in 2009 from its peak in 2008,” read the report. “The industry is expected to be flat in the 2010 to 2012 timeframe. Almost all of this slowdown is because of a downturn in sales for the traditional dedicated console and portable game market. While we caution that currency fluctuations can make global comparisons difficult, DFC Intelligence believes that retail software sales for dedicated console and portable systems peaked in 2008 at about $30 billion worldwide and will not reach that level in the foreseeable future. In 2015 retail software sales for dedicated video game console and portable game systems are expected to be about $23 billion worldwide.”
“The good news is that there is expected to be significant growth in online distribution revenue models,” they added. “By 2015, online distribution on PC and console systems is expected to grow worldwide by over $10 billion from its 2009 level. This increase should offset the decline in retail sales.”
