Is gaming too expensive? sales figures drop in 2011

2011 isn't off to a good start for the videogame industry, according to the latest figures for January.

Sales of new videogame hardware, software and accessories dropped by 5 percent in the US from $1.22 billion to $1.16 billion, going on figures from 2010. Things would have been much worse if it wasn't for the incredible sales figures driven by Blizzard Activisions ‘Call Of Duty: Black Ops' as the sales still were impressive over the New Year period.

Market research company NPD Group suggest that 2011 could already be facing problems as recession suffering customers have looked for less expensive ways of being entertained. Sales of online and mobile games are rising as lower costs prove more viable to people struggling with their financial situation.

Videogame consoles have been hit the hardest, with drops already of 8 percent to $576 million from $606.8 million a year previous. Videogame accessories however show an increase of 6 perecent from $222.8 million a year prior to $235.1 million. Microsoft are showing positive sales from the Kinect motion controller as they have shifted over 8 million units already.

KitGuru says: Are games just too expensive? many console games cost more than £40 in the UK and can often last for less than 10 hours in single player mode. It is a substantial investment.

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