More Games Released In 2009 Than 2008, Study Shows
A study by Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has shown that despite the global economic catastrophe meltdown apocalypse that plagued much of the world these past twelve months, the number of new titles released to retail shelves actually increased over 2008, albeit by a fractional amount. 2008 had a total of 1092 retail releases, while 2009 had 1099.
It's not a significant jump but it was surprising considering that economic woes affected so many varying industries, several studios closed down or cut back on staff, and a number of high profile 2009 releases have been pushed ahead to the first quarter of 2010.
It's not all good news, however, as the same study says that 2010 is not likely to have a similar increase at all.
Looking ahead to next year, Divnich expects a 5-8 percent drop in the number of games to hit shelves. He attributed the expected drop to a combination of factors including industry consolidation, and peak release trends from previous console generations. He also emphasized the impact of digital distribution, saying that if projects like OnLive and GaiKai pan out, the number of boxed retail games released for the year could drop as much as 10 percent.
It's important to note, however, that this only applies to retail releases; new titles could come out and be offered only through digital distribution channels (as is the case for most indie titles) but it's likely that we will see a decrease in AAA titles, especially when companies like Electronic Arts have already stated that's their plan.
More Games Released In 2009 Than 2008 [Kotaku]
mixvio
Posted to Miscellany on 24 December 2009
Other stuff like this: releases, retail shelves, sales
