2010 US game sales drop 2% to $24.7 billion - Report

The year 2010 isn't over just yet, but that fact hasn't stopped Newzoo from releasing a report on software spending for the current year. According to the Amsterdam-based market research firm's estimates, some $24.7 billion was spent on games in the US this year, a 2 percent decline over 2009.

Newzoo's report also offered insights into software spending on console games, boxed PC/Mac games, PC/Mac downloads, social network games, casual game portals, massively multiplayer online games, and gaming on mobile devices. Of the various categories, consoles were the hardest hit, with spending falling 29 percent (when compared to 2009) to $10.6 billion. Boxed PC/Mac games were also hard hit, slipping 19 percent year-over-year to $2.1 billion, while PC/Mac downloads saw a big increase of 60 percent year-over-year to $2.5 billion.

Every other category saw growth, with social network games increasing 66 percent to $1.5 billion. Casual game portals saw a boost of 34 percent to $3.7 billion, while MMOGs grew 27 percent to $2.7 billion. Mobile devices--including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch--saw an increase of 46 percent to $1.6 billion.

Being based in Europe, Newzoo also offered summaries for several other countries. British software spending for 2010 fell 3 percent to £3.7 billion ($5.7 billion), while German software spending rose by an impressive 33 percent to €4.9 billion ($6.4 billion). French software sales were also up, rising by 13 percent to €4 billion ($5.3 billion).