Video Game Industry Ends 2009 on a Positive Note

So let me see if I’ve got this straight.

I post earlier on how all of you can save money by buying used instead of new, and before the post can get cold, there’s a story in the business section of the Saturday, Jan. 16 edition of the Los Angeles Times saying that the video game industry ended the year on an upswing with a four percent increase in sales in December 2009.

It’s nice to know that there’s at least one thing that’s keeping our country’s sorry excuse for an economy going – video gamers! There is nothing that will stop us from getting our fix of the latest and greatest the industry has to offer. Who needs to save money for food and other necessities where there’s a new version of Call of Duty just waiting for you.

However, for the year the video game industry was down eight percent from 2008 totaling $19.66 billion (that’s BILLION!) in video games, consoles and accessories according to the Times and the market research firm NPD Group.

Nintendo continues to rule the roost as consumers 3.8 million Wiis, kicking the crap out of the PlayStation 3 with 1.36 million and the Xbox 360 with 1.31 million in sales. The Wii sells for $149 and the PS3 and Xbox 360, well, don’t. You do the math. The PS3 did have one of its biggest months ever in sales.

Speaking of Call of Duty, Modern Warfare sold an amazing $1 billion in sales worldwide for Activision. Somewhere in the Activision offices in Santa Monica, CA, an executive is making a down payment on a new house and/or car.

But his co-worker in the next cubicle who worked on Guitar Hero 5 may be looking to refinance his home and look for a new Nissan Altima. That’s because Guitar Hero 5 was one of the worst selling games for Activison Blizzard with just 996,000 units gone from September through December.

Ending the year with some good sales is obviously great news for the industry. Just imagine how insane of a year 2010 will be if the economy gets better.