Game sales expected to slide for seventh straight month

Not saying I really care about his opinions that much, but I really feel Pachter is actually on target this time. WAY too many damn sequels lately. I can't believe how excited the news that Nippon Ichi is making a game that isn't Disgaea made me. And it's not like I expect AAA quality from Nippon Ichi or anything, but I do expect somethin that's not mainstream. Dragon's Dogma was the only breath of fresh air this year so far for me.

This is why I'm currently studying how to design my own games. Sure I'll still buy games from developers that I think deserve it, but I really want to start creating my own games and see how a game designed by a gamer, for fun, differs from a game design that spawned from a publisher's need to make money. (I just want to make them and share them with friend's and people who are interested in playing them, currently looking just to make a simple RPG)

I've got a long ways to go with 3D Model design and texture work but it's an extremely entertaining hobby.

For anyone interested, I'm currently learning from this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Unity-3-x-Game-Development-Essentials/dp/1849691444/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1342704691&sr=8-2&keywords=unity+design+essentials

It's proven to be excellent thus far.

Activision, Electronic Arts and THQ <---------------- but ths guys publish the best selling chart topping games every year, so lets blame the other guys who are not catchin up and keep releasing mediocre new IPs 

It felt so good to read that last paragraph

Suck it Activision, EA, and THQ. Your worthless scumbag tactics are only losing you money now and I hope you all go down in flames. At least then your best devs can get a better start with better publishers, or even self publish.

"NPD numbers for June will show US software sales down 34%, blames "lackluster release lineup"

......and yet another foregone conclusion simply to justify his position.

Are sales always this slow toward the end of a console generation? I'm just wondering if this is some obvious pattern that people are freaking out about, saying games are going down the crapper.

After all of this time. Doesn't the Pachter know the summertime is a slower time for sales. Plus the economy is still broken. The Pachter has predicted correctly about the Poster Children Activison, Electronic Arts and THQ limiting consumer chioce. As their games have blown recently

A lot of people like me just flat out won't buy games from activision ea or thq.  All of their games look good but I haven't made my way through a full run of any of their games in the last few years.  The games are boring, all flash no substance.  I have recently made the switch to PC and have been playing nothing but indie games for the last few months.  Games made by people who love games, not the same thing churned out year after year with a fresh coat of paint.  I will still play some AAA titles but I am forever done with Activision, EA, and THQ.

There's only two games I'm actually really looking forward to, and that's GTAV and The Last of Us.

Gaming has gone down a notch this gen, possibly because it's just so damn expensive for both parties.

To be honest, it's been a poor year for gaming so far, with only a couple of titles worth picking up.  Hopefully it will start to gain momentum towards mid september early october time.

Oh God forbid gamers spend their monies on food, clothing, and shelter. Besides, nothing in the least bit interesting is coming out this summer.

This is not news. Nothing of any importance  here.

remember the Playstation, and Playstation 2? Remember all of the awesome games that were released for those consoles? I sure do, and you know why there are more sequels than new IPs? Because they have to invest a crap ton of money to make a game look really pretty for these new consoles, and they will not take the risk of not making enough back. There are too many new gamers that only play games that look appealing in graphics. It is easier for these companies to put out sequels of their top selling games, cause they know they will at least break even on them. Just look at Lollipop Chainsaw. There was something new and innovative, and it didn't do well. I thought it was a fantastic game. It didn't have over the top graphics, but the gameplay was awesome. It also was not some huge game. You could finish it in about 8 hours your first time through, but the arcade feel to it made it fun to replay those levels. Now you cannot sit there and complain that the reason nobody bought it was because of the length of the game, cause God of War 2 sold well, and it only took 6 hours to finish it. The name sells, and that's the bottom line cause Stone Cold said so.

Personally, I am waiting for all the amazing games coming out this fall.

Sales? NPD only? Meh. I don't care for sales, I'm here to game!

This has to be one of the worst years for gaming since the last five or so years. There is literally nothing, I have money to spend but nothing to spend it on. Max payne 3 was the last good purchase I made. This summer is terrible for gaming, and it's not like spring was much better either. The next generation of consoles is needed badly, you cant ride off of seven year technology and expect sales are going to be stellar. Also getting sick of all the sequels and prequels.......

I agree with this. The line up is pretty "lackluster."

The economy is actually getting better. That is not the reason. Developers are putting a majority of their effort into next-gen games. You're just not hearing about it, obviously.

The economy sucks, so the game industry should be down. Entertainment is the first thing that people should stop spending on when they have less money

I'm starting to think that practices like using online passes, always online DRM, and lackluster DLC are starting to catch up with the industry. It's kind of a letdown.

Even the analysts don't have the balls to put blame where it's needed, us the consumers. We're becoming more cheap because of the economy, I don't feel bad for not buying games this year, I've got Halo 4 pre-ordered but that's it for me...

Did Brendan raid Eddie's desk and steal all the Pachter docs? :P

We are PLAYING the same games with different look. PRESSING the same buttons to accomplish the same tasks and achieve the same goals.  Sure newer gamers come in like my son while more people take a break like myself, while others decide to just pick a few games to play instead of the many games they use to play.  

Pachter stating the obvious as usual. Anywho I don't think gamers are willing to buy Ninja Gayden 3, or Street $60 X Take 20 more dollars  

It looks like it's time for Nintendo to save the industry again with Wii U. To give 3rd party developers a clue on how games should be done...for fun, & not all about shooters, graphics, etc. :)

I'm looking forward to October.  

Check my blog for an article similar to this one.  

"The poster children for limiting consumer choice are Activision, Electronic Arts and THQ, with each company offering 50 percent as many titles as they offered several years ago, with only one new intellectual property launched among the three companies over the last year."

...and that's why everyone hates them.