The global digital games market will more than double over the next five years to $53 billion, a research company has claimed.
In the report, business analysts Ovum said revenues will grow at an annual rate of 17 per cent from $24 billion at the end of 2011.
It also forecasts that revenues from mobile gaming will triple over the next five years to be worth more than $17.5 billion.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/digit...e-years/087240 ...

Amazon is trying once again to lay claim to all of your money in a single day, with a set of video game Lightning Deals. If you're quick, you can grab the first right now: Phoenix Wright for $16.

Judging by the clues, following deals should get you Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise, Sonic Free Riders, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, and more. If you're not into the rush of extremely time-limited deals, feel free to take the day to think about buying FIFA Soccer 12. You can see the whole list of deals here.

If you need a console to play these impulse purchases on, Amazon is also offering $50 in credit with purchase of the 4GB Xbox, the Modern Warfare 3bundle and the 160GB PS3.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...cId=1000208101 ...

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American gamers buy more used and digitally distributed games than their European doppelgangers, according to a study released by market analysis firm NewZoo. The organization's statistical findings show that 23 percent of console games purchased in the U.S. are used; slightly more than the European market where used games account for 20 percent of total console sales.

Digitally distributed titles rank lower in both regions, taking up 12 percent of the console market in America and 9 percent in Europe. That 12 percent, by the way, represents approximately $960 million, on account of 54 percent of American console owners reportedly spending an average of $49 a year on console downloads.

American PC gaming culture appears to have adopted the idea of digital distribution much faster than the console market, as an estimated 58 percent of all PC gaming dollars are spent on digitally distributed games or DLC. Now, we're no market analysts, but we think the disparity between PC and console download shares has a lot to do with PC gaming's readily available plethora of hats.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/11/07/re...-console-spen/ ...

The man who is credited with fathering the modern video games industry has delivered a damning verdict of the modern games market.
Ralph Baer, who in the ‘60s designed the prototypes for went on to become the world’s first console, the Magnavox Odyssey, is displeased with the violent nature of today’s triple-A titles.
“I think it’s a disgrace,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune. “What I created got abominated.”
That’s not to say that Baer regrets the part he played in the video gaming revolution, however.
“All I did was come up with what I thought was a fun idea that was the result of a little box that was attached to a television set,” he added. “It just grew and grew and grew. Nobody realised, even at that time, that we were on this geometric curve that would go straight up to heaven.
“It was unforeseeable; it was fantastic. I’m glad it happened. And if I hadn’t had started it, someone else would have.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/the-f...isgrace/087207 ...

Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops sold nearly 15 million units in the US from the start of the 2010 year until September 2011, according to NPD data.
The game, released in November 2010, tops the best-selling list in the region, with sales that separate it from its closest competitor, Ubisoft's Just Dance 2, by almost 10 million units.
EA's Madden NFL 11 was just behind Just Dance 2 with 5.24 million and 5.19 million sales respectively, while Microsoft's Halo: Reach was at 4.74 million units.
Nintendo has four of the ten titles in the best-selling console market from January 10 to September 11 2011 - New Super Mario Wii, Pokemon Gold/Silver, Wii Fit Plus and Pokemon Black/White. Take-Two notched up two big hits with NBA 2K11 outselling Red Dead Redemption.
The full top eleven titles in the US, as revealed in a Ubisoft financial release, follow:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops - 14,983,459
• Just Dance 2 - 5,245,480
• Madden NFL 11 - 5,195,251
• Halo: Reach - 4,746,560
• New Super Mario Wii - 4,231,424
• NBA 2K11 - 4,202,926
• Pokemon Gold/Silver - 3,943,889
• Red Dead Redemption - 3,877,037
• Wii Fit Plus - 3,577,800
• Pokemon Black/White - 3,581,789
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - 3,141,187

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...with-15m-units ...

Feargus Urquhart, the CEO of developer Obsidian, has criticised the use of the Online Pass in the industry’s battle against pre-owned video games.
“One of the recent issues is not putting the full game in the package and requiring downloadable content to move on. Also, including DLC in the package that will have to be repurchased for secondhand buyers,” he told GameSpot.
“I think you have to go in and forget those gimmicks, and say, ‘How do I make them want to keep the game on the shelf?’ I think each genre has a way to do it. Battlefield and Call of Duty have it in multiplayer with maps, rankings, leveling up, and unlocks. There are different things, but the idea is making people feel, ‘I want to keep on playing it’.”
Urquhart goes on to note that this is a particular challenge for genres such as the RPG, which don’t have hugely popular online multiplayer modes to fall back on like an FPS or sports game.
But that’s not to say it can’t be done.
“We come up with things to make players want to keep on playing it. It was never developed this way, but it's funny how it has become a way to do this,” he added.
“By having a good and evil track, like Knights of the Old Republic II, I can play as a light or dark Jedi. I may play through as a light Jedi, but I know that I could play through as a dark Jedi. So I put it back on my shelf and I don't take it back to GameStop.
“If I play Fallout: New Vegas for 50 hours, but there are all these other quests, and there's this whole other area I didn't go to, and online there are people talking about all these things that you could have done all these different ways, I'll feel like ‘Wow, I could play this game again’, because there is all this stuff I didn't get.
“And knowing that, publishers announce DLC plans the day the game comes out. And now, as a player who hasn't experienced everything yet, I know there are these new stories, and I'm going to be able to level up my character and get better stuff, be more of a hero. The game is going to go back on my shelf, not back to GameStop.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/obsid...gimmick/087193 ...

Uncharted 3 has settled for second place in the UK charts this week, despite improving on sales of its predecessor by 37 per cent in its opening week. The game recorded the eleventh biggest PS3 launch week in history.

Battlefield 3 retains the number one position, despite sales dropping by 54 per cent since its debut last week. Sonic Generations is the only other new top ten entry this week, taking tenth place in the chart. Activision's Goldeneye reboot takes 16th.

FIFA 12 retains its position in third, with Batman: Arkham City dropping below it to fourth.

Football manager holds onto its place in the top ten despite dropping to sixth, with 88 per cent of total physical sales occurring on PC.

Last Week This Week Title
1 1 Battlefield 3
New entry 2 Uncharted 3
3 3 FIFA 12
2 4 Batman: Arkham City
5 5 Just Dance 3
4 6 Foootball Manager 2012
6 7 Forza 4
8 8 Zumba Fitness
9 9 Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
New entry 10 Sonic Generations
15 11 F1 2011
18 12 Kinect Sports Season 2
11 13 pro Evolution Soccer 2012
12 14 LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean
Re-entry 15 Michael Jackson: The Experience
New entry 16 Goldeneye: Reloaded
7 17 The Sims 3: Pets
17 18 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
14 19 Gears of War 3
10 20 Rage

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...d-from-uk-no-1 ...