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Game releases hold steady in 2009

EEDAR analysis finds slightly more titles fighting over fewer customer dollars, increasingly scarce shelf space; 2010 to see fewer new retail games.

Judging from the glut of potential blockbusters that were delayed to next year, one might get the impression that 2009 saw fewer games released than normal. That's actually not the case, according to Electronic Entertainment Design and Research analyst Jesse Divnich.

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Citing figures from EEDAR's GamePulse service, Divnich told GameSpot that 2009 saw 1,099 games debut at US retailers across all platforms, up slightly from the previous year's 1,092 releases. Although the quantity of titles hasn't changed much, the steady flow of new releases has some significant implications when combined with other factors.

"For just the current generation home consoles (PS3/360/Wii), 2009's release quantities increase the total availability of games to consumers by 55 percent," Divnich noted. "Unless retail shelf space grows by the same amount--and it isn't--then the retail shelf life for an average game decreases dramatically. Additionally, each year there are at least 50 games that achieve a permanent spot on retail shelves (Greatest Hits, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, etc.), which decreases the total amount of retail space available for newer titles."

Shelf space isn't the only commodity new games have to fight over. With industry sales down year-over-year, there are fewer consumer dollars spread out over a larger number of possible purchases.

"Because our industry is not growing at the same rate as release quantities, it does mean the average new release is producing fewer unit sales than in previous years," Divnich said.

Breaking down the number of new releases by platform (see picture), Divnich noted that despite slowing sales momentum, the DS and Wii both saw significant bumps in their new release numbers. Meanwhile, new PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 retail releases were flat and slightly down for the year, respectively, which Divnich attributed to the rise in digital distribution.

Beyond simply selling games online instead of in stores, developers are spending more time supporting released titles with downloadable content, Divnich said. Over time, those extra resources could lead to fewer games finding their way into retail.

Looking ahead to next year, Divnich expects a 5 to 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.

222 Comments

  • HyruleanLink

    Posted Jan 6, 2010 5:15 pm GMT

    Quality games require more time to devlop therefore less games would be released.

  • SadPSPAddict

    Posted Jan 5, 2010 1:47 am GMT

    Tip to developers then - fewer titles and higher quality

  • duke-nukem11

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 6:59 pm GMT

    demons souls in the uk. that will do me

  • ElvesOnEcstacy

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 3:38 pm GMT

    Looking forward to God of War 3, MGS: Rising, FFXIII and Versus XIII, Bioshock 2 and Im curious about this Fallout:New Vegas. My most anticipated game though is Pokemon Soul Silver/Heart Gold. Gotta love the Pokemon game

  • thingta42

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 3:31 pm GMT

    The games im gonna be getting are, Bayonetta, Dante's Inferno, Kingdom underfire II, Force unleashed 2, Naruto Ninja Storm 2, AVP3. Plus loads of others.. But those are my must haves..

  • x-2tha-z

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 2:23 pm GMT

    I wish I got as much time off over the holidays as the Gamespot staff. I had to go back to work on December 29th.

  • 28137

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 12:14 pm GMT

    have u heard of mgs4, uncharyed 2, arkham asylum, demons souls, assassins creed2, ? @ace cometh

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 12:08 pm GMT

    Well without boring everyone with 'yet another wanted list', i personally think 2010 is going to be a BIG year for games, the first 3 months alone look very impressive.

  • 28137

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 12:08 pm GMT

    bioshock 2 a neccessary release to boost sale prices in 2010. Oh and neon soldier i ttallyagree that ps3 exclusives are pretty damm impressive. I still haven't gotten over mgs4 ;D

  • ganan93

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 11:59 am GMT

    Don't really mind if the game releases go down as long as the ones they do release are awesome games. Let's hope 2010 can be the best year for gaming yet.

  • aaronfhff123

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 11:22 am GMT

    Also give us MEtal Gear 4 for 360. Its a big middle finger to us xbox owners that we are stuck with raiden. WE WANT SNAKE!!

  • aaronfhff123

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 11:19 am GMT

    COD7 and GTA5 are two essential 2010 titles I am looking foward to.... Maybe if developers dropped the rediculous prices like instead of 60/65 dollars for a game make it like 40 dollars. But the federal Reserve wont stop printinf money from thin air and our president seems to like the idea that we go bankrupt so f*** it. Impeach fascist scum like obama and end the fed...than we wouldnt have these problems

  • nickyparmar92

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 9:28 am GMT

    Bioshock 2, BFBC2, GOW3, GT5, MGS Rising, Medal of Honor, Heavy Rain, Batman Arkham Asylum 2, GTA 5 is whats needed to be played this year definitely

  • Spartan_418

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 9:23 am GMT

    There hasn't been an announcement yet but if M$ and Epic continue the pattern we'll have Gears of War 3 this year, though it may depend on whether M$ wants to release Gears 3 and Halo Reach at the same time.

  • dwd_27

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 9:22 am GMT

    2010 sales are gunna be great escpically with mass effcet 2

  • gandalf_storm

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 8:52 am GMT

    cant believe anyone is buying ps2 stuff let alone still playing it, why people why ???

  • beckoflight posted Jan 4, 2010 6:38 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    beckoflight

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 6:38 am GMT (hide)

    Two words ! Mass Effect Two ! ) Two = 2 = its a number not a word !

  • TheDere

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 6:30 am GMT

    Gran Turismo 5
    God of war 3
    Pokemon HG and SS
    Monster hunter tri

    Thats all I need for the year.

    Oh and Black mesa, and Episode 3 would be nice too :p

  • NeonSoldier32

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 5:31 am GMT

    To be fair I would think that they should hold steady with amount of anticipated titles to be relased; Final Fantasy XIII, God of War III, Grand Turismo 5, Mass Effect 2. Most importantly Bioshock 2, okay maybe not most important, but the one I'm looking forward to the most. Some poeple would also include MAG, because of the 256 battles, and because PS3 exclusives are so damn impressive.

  • SavemeJebus24

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 5:24 am GMT

    Quality > Quantity

  • richioso

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 4:48 am GMT

    Quality over quantity please.

    Looking forward to Bioshock 2, heavy rain, FF13, MAG, Split second, GT5, GOW3 > Dantes Inferno > Bayonetta.

  • ploomp89

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 4:36 am GMT

    well ff13, bioshock 2, mass effect 2 are few big titles that are to be released this year so yeah good start to things

  • pudgexd

    Posted Jan 4, 2010 3:27 am GMT

    Gamespot isn't updating news recently.

  • Abecale

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 11:45 pm GMT

    Wake me up when there is real news.

  • fatpumba3

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 10:33 pm GMT

    I believe in about 10 years time people will be ready for OnLive, but not now.

  • witide

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 8:07 pm GMT

    It's not really news if it's not new. Hopefully 2010 will be a year of quality rather than quantity.

  • itBit

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 7:44 pm GMT

    2009 was a beautiful year ..

  • shani_boy101

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 7:27 pm GMT

    @ascalon94 MAG because of the 256 player battles with no lag.

  • ascalon94

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 3:10 pm GMT

    I got a problem. Should I get MAG or Mass Effect 2? And dont say one or the other cause its an exclusive to a certain system.

  • theshireling

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 1:21 pm GMT

    So pretty much the amount of wii and ds shovelware went way up

  • hman1111

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 11:29 am GMT

    The DS and Wii need to DIE

  • rojbin100

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 9:26 am GMT

    Some news please gamespot!!!

  • Trogeton

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 8:37 am GMT

    seems more of an update

  • AssassinJul95

    Posted Jan 3, 2010 5:06 am GMT

    All I can say is, "Holy **** look at the DS!"

  • khai1238

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 11:31 pm GMT

    I am waiting for more news!
    This is not really a news.

  • metalkid9

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 10:16 pm GMT

    I'm waiting for more news.

  • Jhoalot

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 10:09 pm GMT

    @djpetitte

    Also look at the developers, it the famous in online games DICE. Those are one of the kings in online shooter games.

  • Reuuka

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 8:46 pm GMT

    Why is gamespot outdating ?
    no news at all ?

  • i_PWN_fanboys

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 5:39 pm GMT

    @sk8oridie44
    You read my mind. Its been like 2-3 weeks. How long of a vacation do some people get???

  • sk8oridie44

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 4:47 pm GMT

    Damn it's been a week or two since news have been posted on Gamespot... damn

  • firehawk998

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 1:26 am GMT

    I agree with a lot of people here blaming sequels to be a part for not having creavitity in games these days. A sequel in theory should improve the things that made the original game good, remove the bad parts and introduce new features to distinguish it from the origninal series. This year only few done this e.g - AC2 and U2. But instead most of the times sequels means that either a the graphics improve a bit or its character rosters( especailly for sports game) changes. These analyst arent helping either whenever a new IP is about to ger released they say the game will fail big time. Good example Borderlands. Anyways in 2010 I hope the games quality improve and the cost for the CDs comes down. Heres looking to a good 2010.

  • kevin8se7en

    Posted Jan 2, 2010 1:24 am GMT

    Can't wait for Crackdown 2 and God of War 3

  • MadMan117

    Posted Jan 1, 2010 7:20 pm GMT

    Seriously 2010 will be awesome we're getting Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, Dead Rising 2, and Split Second. Not to mention MGS: Rising and Peace Walker!

  • CrankedGamer

    Posted Jan 1, 2010 1:36 am GMT

    I agree with many of you games have to be $ 40 or lower unless they are in a bundle!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope 2010 is a good year for gaming aswell.

  • SuperYeti22

    Posted Dec 31, 2009 7:05 pm GMT

    man when people shop for consoles, they only look at the price, instead of its core value. The wii is the cheapest console, and 1st place in sales, BUT: In the survey of gamers, asking which console crashes most often. 360 was 1st place, PS3 was 2nd place, and Wii was 3rd. But they say that wii crashes least often because people don't play it often. That's proof right there that people only look at console prices. More proof!! Before the PS3 slim, people said the 360 was cheaper, BUT: There are features that come free with the PS3, but you have to pay additional costs, and all those costs + the console cost add up to cost MORE than the PS3. So people, when your shopping for consoles, do some "research" and find out how good the console is, and if it's a good deal, not just the console price.

  • iloveyourface posted Dec 31, 2009 5:13 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    iloveyourface

    Posted Dec 31, 2009 5:13 pm GMT (hide)

    growing up i remember having about 6 to 8 games for the nes. i have about that much for the wii and my god i'm so drunk what was i getting at HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • djpetitte

    Posted Dec 31, 2009 3:34 pm GMT

    it's simple not all games should get the same 50 to 60 dollar price mark upon launch. They should be priced differently, because some games are better then others. For example Battlefield 1943, it's a great series and priced at 15 dollars, that seems reasonable. A game like Mw2 for the pc. 60 dollars is a JOKE! With no d-servers and a 9 vs 9 multiplayer with no vehicles, that's the biggest rip off ever in history of pc gaming, but the casual newbie market gamers will buy it up. I don't know how people can call Mw1 or 2 war games. The original counter strike had more then a 9 vs 9 mp. The most anticipated game of the year is a war game that supports a 9 vs 9 multiplayer without vehicles, You people call that war. You have to be kidding me. LOL! Battlefield 2 for example has a 64 player mp with commanders and squads, now thats war!!! Battlefield: Specializing in online warfare since 1942.

  • pizzaboysam

    Posted Dec 31, 2009 12:56 pm GMT

    @ gregorivich: totally agree with you, who needs princess pony family fun time or whatever....

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