Video game sales in the US hit $30.4 billion in 2016

[Shawn Knight]

The US video game industry generated $30.4 billion in revenue in 2016 according to the latest data from video game industry tracker NPD Group and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The figure, which includes revenue from hardware, software, in-game purchases and peripherals, is up ever so slightly from the $30.2 billion the industry generated in 2015.

Delving in deeper, the ESA notes that revenue from video game software – which includes physical packaged goods, downloadable content, mobile games and subscriptions – grew to $24.5 billion last year, a six percent increase over the $23.2 billion earned a year earlier.

Indeed, it was a solid year for gaming as a whole. Virtual reality finally went mainstream with the launch of the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, mobile gamers enjoyed the phenomenon that was Pokémon Go and console gamers were immersed with blockbusters like Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Madden NFL 17 and NBA 2K17. Even retro gamers got in on the action courtesy of the NES Classic Edition.

Interestingly enough, the PC platform was the most diverse and dynamic of all growth platforms with a record number of game launches in 2016.

Mat Piscatella, an industry analyst with the NPD Group, said consumers have more options to purchase and enjoy entertainment software than ever before. Likewise, developers have more and easier ways of delivering content. No matter the delivery platform, Piscatella concluded, entertainment software has never been more engaging, diverse or accessible.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/67850-video-game-sales-us-generated-304-billion-revenue.html

 

[Uncle Al]

With all those sales and profits, it is a wonder that so many of these publicly traded companies pay no dividends to their stock holders, suggesting just how volatile they really are. It would seem that "here today, gone tomorrow" is more of a corporate creed than a business model.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

With all those sales and profits, it is a wonder that so many of these publicly traded companies pay no dividends to their stock holders, suggesting just how volatile they really are. It would seem that "here today, gone tomorrow" is more of a corporate creed than a business model.

it's also telling how often these companies cry that they dont make enough, all while pushing more ludicrous pre orders and laying off staff as soon as possible, all while underfunding QA.

Where is all that money going

 

[Footlong]

With all those sales and profits, it is a wonder that so many of these publicly traded companies pay no dividends to their stock holders, suggesting just how volatile they really are. It would seem that "here today, gone tomorrow" is more of a corporate creed than a business model.

it's also telling how often these companies cry that they dont make enough, all while pushing more ludicrous pre orders and laying off staff as soon as possible, all while underfunding QA.

Where is all that money going

Bad managing of resources is the number one cause of video game publishers in studios shutting down. Not so much for publishers lately as the market is pretty much locked by big corporations now. Studios on the other hand are growing their budget to make AAA games without having staff or know how to do so.

 

[oldikes]

Wonder how much of that GTA V alone generated.

 

[turismozilla]

And yet we are killing the industry, or so they whine.