2008 end-of-year sales – Wii kicks butt on all fronts
2008 was a magnificent year for gaming. The next-gen finally got going at full speed, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 showing what they are capable of, while the Wii dominated sales charts for the whole twelve months. All in all, the industry seemed to buck the trend shown in other retail sectors by succeeding despite the recession dealing a blow to consumer spending.
We’ve already looked at the December sales figures for the U.S., but the NPD Group also released its figures for the whole of 2008. They show the industry continuing to grow in all sectors and point towards how 2009 is likely to pan out. The top ten bestselling games of the year were also revealed, and in that area, like all the other, the Wii kicked butt.
The video games industry as a while brought in $21.33 billion, a rise of 19 percent on 2007. Compare these figures with 1997, when the annual revenue across the whole industry was just $5.1 billion and we see how far this once niche hobby has come. It’s no wonder gaming is now taking over the world, passing sales achieved by the music industry and gaining on the movie industry.
Hardware was up 11 percent on $7.81 billion, while accessories rose 14 percent on $2.57 billion. Games themselves saw the biggest increase, with a 26 percent jump over 2007 to $10.96 billion. Although there have been some casualties in the industry already since the economy weakened, these figures show how strong the games sector still is.
Our crystal-ball gazing friend Michael Pachter rather glibly said ,”Yes, the recession is having an impact. But it’s not too dramatic. People are still buying this stuff.” Obviously none of us non-analysts could have worked that one out for ourselves, hence the need for Pachter to inform us of it.
The Wii has clearly been the big winner all year, with it only facing competition from its little brother the DS for bestselling console on a monthly basis. As the sales chart on Ars Technica shows, the two Nintendo consoles have swapped places throughout the year but neither of them have been troubled by any of the other consoles. The spikes, particularity for the DS, in the run-up to Christmas suggest that Nintendo is going to have a great 2009 as well.
Top Ten Bestselling Games Of 2008 (Gamespot)
1. Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) – 5.28 million
2. Mario Kart Wii (Wii, Nintendo) – 5 million
3. Wii Fit (Wii, Nintendo) – 4.53 million
4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, Nintendo) – 4.17 million
5. Grand Theft Auto IV (360, Take-Two) – 3.29 million
6. Call of Duty: World at War (360, Activision) – 2.75 million
7. Gears of War 2 (360, Microsoft) – 2.31 million
8. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, Take-Two) – 1.89 million
9. Madden NFL 09 (360, Electronic Arts) – 1.87 million
10. Mario Kart DS (DS, Nintendo) – 1.65 million
The top four are all Nintendo games for the Wii, meaning the big N made a great deal of money on software in 2008. Wii Sports is already the bestselling game of all time thanks to being bundled with every Wii console, but Wii Play topped the software chart for the year thanks to coming with that extra Wii Remote. Wii Fit snatching number three is an awesome result seeing as how expensive it is and the fact it’s a lifestyle device rather than a game.
I loved 2008 from the perspective of being a gamer. If you haven’t yet read my review of the year (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) then do so now for the highlights from Gamer.Blorge over the past 12 months. Will 2009 be as positive? I think it will, with some fantastic games due out and all three consoles capable of delivering much more than they already have done.
Don’t forget to vote in our new poll which asks, “2009 will be the year of the…?” Just look to the left and choose your winner.
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18 Responses to “2008 end-of-year sales – Wii kicks butt on all fronts”
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January 16th, 2009
I thought this was a gaming blog? Don’t we put Wii articles on Toy.Blorge now?
-Arvis
January 16th, 2009
so what else is new??
hey arvis… its been a while since I kicked your ass in SF2… when do ya wanna play???
January 16th, 2009
You’ve gotta hand it to Nintendo though haven’t you.
And yet what’s ironic is that next gen, Sony and Microsoft will probably still try to build the most advanced system, even though the under-powered Wii is defying that “the most advanced system” argument.
January 16th, 2009
Id say its the years of experience… they’ve seen Sony and Microsoft and Sega battle it out to capture a small hardcore gamers market… so they went the other way and decided to make up their own market…
Id say most of the success came from the marketing… the ads look great… compared the the “OH MY GAWD Half my head in 360″ and the “Look at the games in my shirt that you dont know the names of” for the PS3…
January 16th, 2009
Wii haters BURN!!1one.
I still say it has some good games!
January 16th, 2009
ZOMG!!!
Nazi zombie mode unlocked for all and double XP weekend… CMON PEEPS!!! lets keel some nazis…
January 16th, 2009
SW,
If that’s the nicest thing you can say about the Wii, you just proved everyone’s point. *grins*
Btw, I love me some Mario Kart, just like anyone else…
Also, I will only be buying next-gen consoles that are ACTUALLY next-gen. If Sony makes a “fun, underpowered machine” and Microsoft makes a sweet, multi-functional, HD, graphical behemoth, then you’ll be calling me a Microsoft loyalist come next-gen. And vice-versa, of course.
-Arvis
January 16th, 2009
wtf ARvis??? no love for me???
I WANNA PLAY STREET FIGHTERERERE!!!
January 16th, 2009
Well I never said it was awesome, but it does have good games, and its sad that some people will never get to play them because they get turned off by its ‘casual-ness’.
January 16th, 2009
please give me money so I can buy a Wii to play No more Heroes and Mad World…
for every minute you dont pay… I kill one puppy…
January 16th, 2009
DWH,
We could play with Mr. Roast Beef if you were online right now… but you’re not…
-Arvis
January 16th, 2009
I WAS ONLINE!! I SENT YOU A MESSAGE!!!
anyways… AYE BOURNE!!! how did you complete Cod WaW in veteran?? how hard was it??? whats different from the normal to veteran mode?? do I not have a map or something??
January 17th, 2009
I never understood why the wii is always compared to the PS3 and the 360. To me that is like comparing motorbikes to cars. The Ps3 and the 360 are in direct competition, as they offer similar features and a similar set of games. If you buy a game for the PS3 you are unlikely to buy the same game for the 360. The wii however has a completely different set of games, very few of which compete with the other two consoles. As a result you can own a wii and one of the other 2 without either of them clashing. A customer who chooses a 360 is unlikely to also buy a PS3, so there is a loss of sales potential there. A customer that buys a wii would also be able to justify the purchase of a 360 or PS3, so there is little or no potential loss of sales. If either MS or Sony wise up and develop cross ties with the wii you would be faced with a serious blow to their competitor.
With regards to the NPD sales figures, it is interesting to see that the difference between the wii and the 360 is now less than between the 360 and the ps3. Looks like MS’s current strategy is starting to pay off.
January 17th, 2009
Rimmer,
Perfect analogy, motorbikes weigh less, have smaller engines, and tend to move faster than cars, usually beating them in races (here the race is sales). I think the main reason is that the Wii is Nintendo’s answer, and we are not the target consumer. Children and families are their fuel for this particular race.
January 17th, 2009
It’s a silly diversion of PS3 fans to pretend that somehow the Wii doesn’t count and that the only competiton is the 360.
Talking up the ‘ifs buts and maybes’ of a – let’s be very fank & honest here – extremely slim chance of taking 2nd place in the current sales wars is merely an indication of how far the Playstation brand has fallen.
Sony only have themselves to blame.
January 18th, 2009
Happyhockum,
Considering that last gen PS2’s are still selling well (XBox and Gamecubes are not), PSP’s are selling well (MS doesn’t have a handheld, PSP is Sony’s first handheld offering “doing well” to still be existing after Nintendo has crushed so many handheld competitors in the past), and PS3 will soon cross the 20 million milestone, Sony is actually doing quite well even if they are in third with PS3 right now. Any competitor would be foolish to dismiss them as having only an “extremely slim” chance of taking 2nd place in the current sales war. Especially considering that Sony has been increasing sales to the point of nearly surpassing 360. Sony has only themselves to blame.
Do you seriously think 360 will surpass Wii this console gen?
January 20th, 2009
Let’s all be honest here for just a sec, the Wii has already won first place this generation. There is almost not a chance of M$ or the PS3 taking that title.
As far as second place… it’s still a very tight race. I think when it is finally done, the difference between second and third place will not be that big at all.
January 29th, 2009
8 million and counting is “very tight”?