Video game fatigue afflicts sales, not thumbs

Iria · Feb 6, 2006, 03:53 PM

In November, Activision released "True Crime: New York City," a video game that seemed to have all the makings of a hit.

It was the sequel to a well-received game, it had the violent aesthetic of the popular Grand Theft Auto series, and it featured licensed songs from name acts like DMX and Public Enemy. Activision promoted the game heavily, with full-page advertisements in mainstream magazines.

By the end of December, however, the game had sold only 348,000 copies--more than the 210,000 that the first game in the franchise sold in the same time period when it was released in 2003, but significantly below expectations.

For a new video game, the last two months of the year is a critical period that usually represents almost half of annual sales--like the summer and the holiday season combined for the movie business. When a highly anticipated game does not hit its numbers in that period, its publisher cannot rely on it to offset any revenue shortfall in weaker releases.

For a big-budget game, publishers typically need to sell about half a million copies to earn a significant profit. While "True Crime: New York City" could still make money for Activision, its ultimate contribution is likely to be far smaller than the company had wanted or expected. (Activision declined to comment for this article.)
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Read More / Source: News.com

Feb 6, 2006, 03:53 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Video game fatigue afflicts sales, not thumbs In November, Activision released "True Crime: New York City," a video game that seemed to have all the makings of a hit. It was the sequel to a well-received game, it had the violent aesthetic of the popular Grand Theft Auto series, and it featured licensed songs from name acts like DMX and Public Enemy. Activision promoted the game heavily, with full-page advertisements in mainstream magazines. By the end of December, however, the game had sold only 348,000 copies--more than the 210,000 that the first game in the franchise sold in the same time period when it was released in 2003, but significantly below expectations. For a new video game, the last two months of the year is a critical period that usually represents almost half of annual sales--like the summer and the holiday season combined for the movie business. When a highly anticipated game does not hit its numbers in that period, its publisher cannot rely on it to offset any revenue shortfall in weaker releases. For a big-budget game, publishers typically need to sell about half a million copies to earn a significant profit. While "True Crime: New York City" could still make money for Activision, its ultimate contribution is likely to be far smaller than the company had wanted or expected. (Activision declined to comment for this article.) ___________ Read More / Source: News.com