Are we ready for the biggest video games drought ever?

April 26th, 2013, 00:59 Posted By: wraggster

Fewer video games were sold than ever last week, as the release schedule dries up.
Retailers shifted just 332,338 games over the last seven days, generating £8m in revenue. But the worse is still to come, say analysts.
In fact, UK retailers told MCV this week they don’t expect the market to grow again until GTA V launches in September.
There are just a smattering of releases due over the next four months, as publisher gear up for the next generation of consoles.
“After 2012’s summer product drought which was blamed at the time on everything from the Olympics to the football to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, it is disappointing to see the games business apparently sleepwalking into the same situation again,” said Kim Bayley, director general of the Entertainment Retailers Association.
“The harsh truth is that new product drives business and without sufficient releases, sales will suffer”
Asda’s games boss Craig Thirkell added: “It’s going to be a long summer – inflation is ahead of wages, changes to benefits came in to effect this month and customers have less disposable money.
“I think a lot will depend upon several announcements and their timings. And also how the format holders continue to offer value to keep the hardware market as buoyant as possible, married with publisher support on key titles from Q4 and Q1 to keep the momentum going.
“I can’t give away too much, but we definitely have plans to engage customers and bring them plenty of opportunity to shop with us over the summer months.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/are-w...t-ever/0114695

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