Video Games at All-Time High

Video games reached an all-time high of US$6.3 billion in retail sales in 1998, according to The NPD Group, growing 22 percent over an also-strong '97. The NPD Group publishes the TRSTS video game sales numbers, which are used by companies and research firms to indicate sales. The boost is attributed to continued strength in sales of Nintendo 64 and PlayStation consoles, with a combined installed base of 26 million next-generation systems in the US.

Software sales rose 53 percent in unit sales and 38 percent in dollar sales, with next-generation software growing 75 percent in units and 51 percent in dollars. Lower average retail pricing caused the larger increase in unit sales than dollars. Portable systems also showed growth, up 50 percent in dollar sales over '97. Game Boy Color and Pokemon were attributed to the increase in sales. Accessories also showed an increase in sales, with a 32 percent increase over 1997 and 89 percent of the business in next-generation products.

Amazingly, GoldenEye 007 landed at number one in unit sales for the year, selling 2.1 million units, with Legend of Zelda for the N64 also coming in with 2.1 million even though it was introduced in late November (and GoldenEye's over a year old).

"For 1999, the video game industry should see sales grow somewhere between 10 percent to 15 percent potentially hitting the $7 billion mark," Ed Roth, president of NPD's Leisure Activities Tracking Service, said in a statement. "Continued availability of new software, very reasonably priced software, hardware prices perhaps reaching the $99 level, the Sega Dreamcast launch in the fall, and a current massive console install base are all reasons for predicting industry success in 1999."

NPD's TRSTS Video Games

Top 20 Best Selling Video Game Titles Ranked on Unit Sales Annual 1998 (Rank/Title/Platform/Publisher/Average Retail Price)

1 / GoldenEye 007 / N64 / Nintendo of America / $49

2 / Legend of Zelda: OOT / N64 / Nintendo of America / $59

3 / Gran Turismo / PS / SCEA / $41

4 / Banjo-Kazooie / N64 / Nintendo / $50

5 / Super Mario 64 / N64 / Nintendo of America / $41

6 / Resident Evil 2 / PS / Capcom / $50

7 / WCW/nWo Revenge / N64 / THQ / $60

8 / WWF Warzone / PS / Acclaim / $42

9 / Crash Bandicoot 2 / PS / SCEA / $25

10 / Madden 99 / PS / EA / $41

11 / Mario Kart 64 / N64 / Nintendo of America / $41

12 / Tekken 3 / PS / Namco / $44

13 / Crash Bandicoot WARPED / PS / SCEA / $40

14 / NFL GameDay 99 / PS / 989 Studios / $40

15 / Metal Gear Solid / PS / Konami / $48

16 / Yoshi's Story / N64 / Nintendo of America / $50

17 / 1080 Snowboarding / N64 / Nintendo of America / $50

18 / Tomb Raider / PS / Eidos Interactive / $21

19 / Crash Bandicoot / PS / SCEA / $21

20 / NASCAR 99 / PS / EA / $40