2022 has been a challenging year for tech companies, and games He was not immune to ups and downs. In fact, the main companies of the industry are not expecting a very encouraging end to the year. To the point that video game sales are expected to suffer their first decline in a decade..

This is stated in a recent report Wall Street Magazine, based on an analysis by the Dutch firm Newzoo BV. He himself predicts drop by 4.3% in total consumer spending on this type of entertainment during the year. If it materializes For the first time since 2012, video game sales have fallen year-over-year..

The same report states that in 2020, publication sales are up 25% due to the pandemic. While 2021 saw a new year-on-year growth – in this case 7.6% – due to the continued global impact of COVID-19.

In a sense, the drop in video game sales in 2022 it was predictable. The return to normal life in much of the world has reduced the amount of time spent playing games on consoles and PCs. To this must be added the effects of inflation, which has severely punished the world’s major economies, and the widespread fear of a recession.

However, the industry still had an ace up its sleeve: parties at the end of the year. But all indications are that even that won’t be enough to keep the numbers, at least as far as software marketing is concerned, from falling down. An alarming sign, given that this is one of the strongest periods of the year.

Reasons for the drop in video game sales

Photo by Felipe Vieira on Unsplash

Report Wall Street Magazine mentions that the drop in video game sales compared to last year breaks the stereotypes of previous years. Not only because of the statistics themselves, but also because of the context. Analysts have historically considered games “recession resistant”due to the fact that in the previous stages of the crisis they were the cheapest entertainment, compared, for example, with going to the cinema.

But this time the trend seems to be reversed. No wonder such well-known companies as Take-Two, Electronic Arts and Sony have cut their financial results. While others, such as Xbox and Activision Blizzard, saw revenue and monthly active users decline in the most recent quarter.

In addition to the unfavorable macroeconomic environment that is forcing major tech companies to cut costs and lay off employees, there is another factor influencing low video game sales ahead of the New Year holidays. We are, of course, talking about lack of high-level venues.

That doesn’t mean we haven’t had great releases in our current schedule. There were, but they were counted on the fingers of one hand. Forbidden Horizon West D Gran Turismo 7 they arrived during the first term; and just between the end of October and the beginning of November, the hornet’s nest was shaken again by the arrival Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 D God of War: Ragnarok.

Major publishers like Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two spent 2022 without pain or glory. Although the loudest case was with the Xboxwhat’s with the delay Starfield ended the whole year without an exclusive AAA premiere. Another part of the complex and unfavorable panorama of video game sales.

Source: Hiper Textual

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