• NY Times, Monday, February 6, 2006 10:02 AM

The news from the video game industry hasn't been so good recently. While overall sales grew 6 percent in 2005, console game sales--the heart of the industry--fell 12 percent. Many believe the slump is attributable to the so-called "console transition" publishers face every five years or so, in which gamers transition to the next-generation console system and software sales are slow; but there is also concern by a few industry observers that the video game business may not as be growing beyond the subculture of hardcore gamers as was previously thought. Further evidence of declines: several major titles fared below sales expectations last year, including Activision's True Crime: New York and the latest James Bond game from Electronic Arts. Both publishers were later forced to lower their sales projections. In fact, there were no blowout titles at all in 2005, compared with 2004's blockbusters Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which sold 5.1 million copies for the PlayStation 2. Among analysts, the most popular explanation for the weak numbers is the arrival of the Xbox 360, which has sold some 600,000 units to date in North America, according to NPD Group. Many consumers had to pay upwards of $500 for a console bundle--the equivalent of 10 games.

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