2005 a record year for US gaming

  • By Brendan Sinclair, Curt Feldman, GameSpot
  • Posted Jan 13, 2006 2:35 pm PT

Industry outpaces 2004 revenues despite fourth-quarter slump; Electronic Arts and Star Wars dominate year-end sales list.

Despite less-than-rosy reports from retailers for the last few months of 2005, the US game industry still experienced record sales, according to year-end figures from The NPD Group.

For the year, US retailers sold $10.5 billion of gaming hardware, software, and accessories, 6 percent higher than last year's $9.9 billion. The 2005 tally also sets a new record for the industry, breaking 2002's previous high of $10.3 billion.

Anita Frazier, entertainment-industry analyst for the NPD Group, reflected on how, after a dismal fourth calendar quarter, the industry was able to end the year with a net revenue gain. "Heading into the second week of December, all industry grumblings continued, [indicating] that the industry was very soft and that few, if any, titles were selling at expectations. Combined with the grumbling about the lack of supply of 360's, well, it wasn't pretty...[but] by all accounts, the last two weeks were stellar."

What a lot of people didn't recognize, given the bad reports in the back part of the year, Frazier said, "was that as of November, on a year-to-date basis, we were still up 5 percent."

And ultimately, it was the holiday season that spelled the difference for the industry.

"The last two-week pickup is a testament to the appeal of this form of entertainment," said Frazier. "Folks may have been dragging their feet, but when it came down to it, they wanted something 'gaming' under the trees for the holiday."

While the console market declined over the year as the transition to next-generation systems began, the portable market picked up the slack, bringing in $1.4 billion thanks to the launch of the PSP and the growing momentum of the Nintendo DS. Despite the suddenly crowded handheld market, the Game Boy Advance remained king of the portables, as 64 percent of portable games sold were for the GBA.

As for the actual games, it was a banner year for Electronic Arts and the Star Wars franchise. EA took home five of the top 10 best-selling titles, with Madden NFL 06 coming in first and fourth place on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, respectively, and three of its other sports titles making appearances in the top 10. Three Star Wars games also made the top list, with the predictable sellers, the game based on Star Wars Episode III and Battlefront II, being joined by Eidos' quirky Lego Star Wars action gamer.

Top console and handheld games of 2005:
1. Madden NFL 06 (PS2), Electronic Arts, over 2.9 million sold
2. Pokemon Emerald (GBA), Nintendo of America, over 1.7 million sold
3. Gran Turismo 4 (PS2), SCEA, over 1.5 million sold
4. Madden NFL 06 (Xbox), Electronic Arts, over 1.2 million sold
5. NCAA Football 06 (PS2), Electronic Arts, over 1.1 million sold
6. Star Wars: Battlefront II (PS2), LucasArts, over 1 million sold
7. MVP Baseball 2005 (PS2), Electronic Arts, over 970,000 sold
8. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (PS2), LucasArts, over 930,000 sold
9. NBA Live 06 (PS2), Electronic Arts, over 820,000 sold
10. LEGO Star Wars (PS2), Eidos, over 800,000 sold

163 Comments

  • s0ild_snake

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 8:17 am PT

    cool

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 12:04 am PT

    Holy... a total of 4.1 million Madden 06

  • Superlegtesta

    Posted Apr 20, 2006 9:17 am PT

    Hum, in this list I could only, maybe, imagine one or two games, at the most, becoming somewhat classic games. It's like watching the top ten movies of the year : how many of these movies were actually good? How many of these games are actually different, imaginative and worth playing? This just confirms what I've always been thinking : the American public's taste is, let's just say, easy to please.

  • bobblyhead

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:54 pm PT

    yeah

  • Fingerella69er

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 2:18 pm PT

    God of War and RE4 should have been there though cuz they're really good games but anyways they sold alot too

  • Fingerella69er

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 2:15 pm PT

    obviously madden was gonna be #1 I mean when isnt it besides when a GTA or Halo game comes out? im glad that those games got 1st place. Most of them are good or decent games except for the star wars movie game.

  • konfuzed

    Posted Jan 23, 2006 5:53 am PT

    This list saddens and angers the great konfuzed. All hail the obscure niche titles!

  • Captain_Tom

    Posted Jan 20, 2006 6:54 pm PT

    Holy smokin' crap. Sony has such a fat market share. I always knew it was big, but 8/10 top sellers? Whoa.

  • MichaelPagel

    Posted Jan 19, 2006 6:50 pm PT

    I think this finding is due to a lost youth. Nothing wrong with that, however I think this why people turn to video games. Movies tend to suck...alot, most young people in their late teens and early twenties work crumby jobs, studying for exams gets tiring, and over all I think gamers are looking for an escape for the boring, socialy pressuring, hard, real world.

    When I was a kid playing mario and sonic the hedge hog, I naively thought my life too was going to have some greater purpose. Maybe not to rescue a princess or run like mad grabbing gold rings, but I thought there was going to be something. In truth, I found none of this at all. I went to 2 years of college and worked as a waiter, then fed up with that I moved to Beijing China and now teach english. And today, I have yet to find a purpose as simple as get the "highest score" in life.

    Maybe so many people are playing video games to put a slight bit of purpose in their lives or maybe to escape. Maybe the increased number sales reflects a growing population, or maybe the world is getting richer and more people can now afford such luxeries. But to me girls, alcohol, and video games are the best part of life I have experienced, and in that order.

  • webby1

    Posted Jan 19, 2006 10:41 am PT

    Im not really suprised thats the kind of games that normally sell a lot unless a big hit is out, Halo's, GTA's, Legend of Zelda's, Final Fantasy's

  • Anthonybdfg

    Posted Jan 18, 2006 8:18 pm PT

    Last year games but this year game are going to be even bettter

  • YonSon

    Posted Jan 18, 2006 5:56 pm PT

    only one nintendo product on the list!?!?!?!?!!?!!!????????!?!?!?!!!?!
    : (

  • Sheik_Yerbouti_

    Posted Jan 18, 2006 8:04 am PT

    Notice the disparity between the games on that list and the ones that get the most attention here on GS? That's because the folks who helped put those games on that list are not the same ones who hang out here. I mean, it's sad that prolefeed like this beats out great games like NG:B, God of War and RE4, but what are you gonna do?

  • boo_dat

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 11:45 pm PT

    well, there are a lot of children out there who play videogames...I'd say 70% of the market is made up of children...and let me be frank, children are stupid. They don't know a good game from a bad one. Also, this is North America...obviously the gaming industry is completely male dominated...and of those males, I'd say about half of them enjoy football...and I'm guessing that out of that percentage, almost all of those guys are going to buy a football game...everyone knows that if you're going to buy any football game at all that it's going to be Madden! I'll admit...if you have a lot of friends over, it's always a crowd pleaser when you bring out Madden or a racing game...with that said, I'd probably never buy a Madden game but I have been to all my friend's places and about 3/4 of them own a Madden game. I dunno, does anyone agree with me here?

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 7:05 pm PT

    A lot of sequels came out in 2005

  • n2Deepeth

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 6:39 pm PT

    I like to play some football games, but I wouldn't consider buying one every year. I'd stick with any other past football games that are similar to madden or blitz.. It's sad to see that awesome games don't get as many sales as more generic games.

  • masterdeath31

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 6:36 pm PT

    Yea man what is with the lack of BC with the 360 aarg

  • CrayAku

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 11:10 am PT

    =) ok then...

  • Hero_of_Time82

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 9:24 am PT

    I can't believe that over 4 million people actually bought Madden 06... wow

  • Atkins-175

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 8:39 am PT

    LEGO STAR WARS RULES!

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jan 17, 2006 8:31 am PT

    surprising.....2006 should be a big year with ps3 and rev coming out (depending on how many launch titles and games beyond launch there will be)

  • Regnall

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 11:34 pm PT

    I didn't buy any of these games. It's mostly because I don't buy games that suck or games that are sports games.

  • tbot19

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 7:15 pm PT

    The Japanese numbers are in also..go to www.gamasutra.com.... they also said that GT4 is the only title to figure prominently(top 5) in all three major Sales charts worldwide(Being Europe,North America and Japan). That leads to the next question...what exactly was the top selling game worlwide for 2005? Was it GT4 or something else?

  • thepeter

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 1:08 pm PT

    i bet the 2006 list will have a bunch of PS2 games on it still. i wonder if Zelda could be #1...

  • yboucher

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 12:55 pm PT

    And actually, the thing is that these stats, just like any other stats, only give one part of the story. NPD can't track EVERY sale, especially considering that a good part of their data comes from voluntary sales disclosure from publishers. Needless to say not every publisher is interested in disclosing that, but some are, like EA, being a public company, disclosing their sales figures and ending up in such force on that chart definitely gives some fuel to their stock value. But like any other chart, I wouldn't take this one for cash.

  • yboucher

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 12:51 pm PT

    The ONLY good game in that list is GT4.

  • nsmasta

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 10:40 am PT

    LOL ! i didn"t buy any of those! do i have bad taste for games, or is it just that i don't like sports games or popular games ? ... and pokemon? it's still selling O_O ??

  • jt11989

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 9:39 am PT

    i liked msot of those games

  • chris132000

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 9:36 am PT

    PC>>>>>XBOX>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>PS2.PC games rules

  • secily

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 9:07 am PT

    EA is teh devil!

  • guybrush876

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 3:26 am PT

    I don't understand. There are more them 50M consoles sold in the USA and the best selling game is another madden game? Not even 10 games managed to sell more than 1M. What do people doing with there consoles? just bougth them for the sake of it? Are there so many consoles with a chip or swap magic? I relly don't get it. Not one single game from the top 20 games of 2005 (according to gamerankings top).

  • automaticsnake

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 2:45 am PT

    WOW star wars doing pretty good.

  • Igiss

    Posted Jan 16, 2006 1:53 am PT

    Waiting for PC sale figures, then conclusions will be more precise I guess.

  • ewjim

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 11:57 pm PT

    Star Wars is in "Top console and handheld games of 2005"?! Where is the world coming to... Where is God of War or RE4, or Devil May Cry, or something BETTER then SW???

  • Prideless4life

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 10:44 pm PT

    I can understand football games being sold a lot in the market since it has the only license....but dam.

    Pokemon??? Lil kids still havent found anything better to do.....

    Gta 4?? ehh maybe.

    Battlefront 2....probably since there isnt any other game on Ps2 that was fun online...get it?? online..sony sucks...online.sucks=sony online...hahah im so funny

    Wtf is lego star wars doing there??? ppl suck at shopping for games..

    wow this is horrible....

    YEah world of warcraft would be number one if Pc games were included....EVERYONE was addicted to that shyt...thank god i got out.

  • g0t12ic3

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 10:33 pm PT

    This is a joke! I mean I'm positive RE4 got like 3 million sales so why isn't it up there? Crazy they either miscaculated or EA hired them..

  • peterles

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 7:37 pm PT

    yea, the list is pretty lame, i didnt buy any of those games. its a shame that the really really good games that came out in 2005 didn't earn the gobs of money that they deserve, oh well, what are you goona do

  • Arley569

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 7:37 pm PT

    Madden all the way get over IT!

  • Viquist

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 7:29 pm PT

    I like Star Wars Battlefront II but I agree that the sports games should not be dominating... it's very sad. There were plenty of games better than the one's onn this list so why is Madden #1? I don't get it - RPG's FPS's Act/Adv Hack&Slash platformers ... and America - our gaming public chooses sports that they could be outside playing. I just don't understand.

  • Randomd00d

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 6:40 pm PT

    i just think its a little sad that LEGO STAR WARS sold more then like alot of games that are way better then it....

  • bizsumpark182

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 5:30 pm PT

    Man, people buy way too many sports games. But, if you think about, most of the people that buy these sports games only play sports games because they want to be like the superstar players. If someone would only introduce these people to some good ole' fashion FPS or something.

  • playwrite

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 4:10 pm PT

    madden. madden. not RE4. not God of War. not Katamari. not even mario kart DS (granted, it was released kinda late in the year). we get Madden. hell, the only nintendo game on the list was pokemon. thy don't even make good pokemon games anyomre. eugh.

    if LoZ doesn't clean up this year i will be so pissed...

  • playwrite

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 4:09 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • chibi-acer

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 4:08 pm PT

    I bet these numbers don't include revenue from WoW subscriptions either.

  • ryokinshin

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 2:22 pm PT

    battlefront is a pretty gd game i hav pc version, people should just get into more different games, its ok if a few sports games are on there, but it shoudlnt be dominating

  • mischa_barton

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 1:49 pm PT

    I own 3

  • Vornagar

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 1:22 pm PT

    Suprising

  • budlongmv

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 11:26 am PT

    Its amazing how stupid people are, they just buy EA sports because it's EA, no matter how bad the game is, and Star Wars games no matter how bad those games are. SW Episode 3 sold almost a million games, it was a horrible game.

  • Danski90

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 11:12 am PT

    GOW and DMC3 and Resi 4 didn't make that list? wow...

  • ocdog45

    Posted Jan 15, 2006 11:09 am PT

    lets all thank each other for another great year of playing video games

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

Madden NFL 06 Boxshot
Madden NFL 06

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    3,591 of 78,855
    (down by 418)
    PS2 Rank:
    357 of 3,725
    Tracking:
    4,744 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    1,163 Wish It»
  • Users Now Playing:
    1,244
  • Number of Players:

    1-4, 4 Online | Offline Modes: Competitive, Team Oriented | Online Modes: Competitive, Team Oriented

  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. madden
    2. football
    3. madden 06
    4. nfl
    5. ea sports
  • Everyone Rating Description

    Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Recent News

See All News »

Site Blogs