Apparently, Canadians spend A LOT on videogames.
In a recent story over at CBC.ca, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation’s online persona and news site, Canadians are practically emptying their pockets to lose themselves in virtual entertainment.
That’s videogames, stupid.
“The video game industry generated $783 million in sales in Canada during the first six months of 2008, according to [market researcher] NPD Canada, a 56 per cent increase from the same time frame the previous year. U.S. sales rose at a similar pace, jumping 53 per cent to $8.3 billion US.”
The bad news is that for the month of June Xbox 360 was in second to last or last place, juggling the position with the Sony PSP. Nintendo’s DS and Wii were the biggest and second biggest sellers respectively, to no one’s surprise.
Maybe Microsoft is kicking itself in the ass now for not considering a Blu-ray add on for its machine. “The PS3 sales rose 67 per cent from the previous month in Canada, and was even more popular south of the border, enjoying a 94 per cent jump in sales.” Given that the PS3 is a machine with not-so-hot software, but the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market, it seems only logical that the PS3 would be very appealing primarily for its Blu-ray capabilities.
That, and Metal Gear Solid 4 launched exclusively on the system. Unless you’ve just climbed down from the trees, Metal Gear Solid 4 was the hotly anticiplated and ridiculously well received final installment in the Metal Gear Solid series.
“The military adventure game Metal Gear Solid 4 was the top-selling game in the U.S. and the third-biggest seller in Canada.”
With Microsoft rolling out a strong and unified push towards capturing the casual gaming market this fall with its redesigned dashboard and “New Xbox LIVE Experience”, a market that Nintendo’s Wii practically defined, the fortunes of the once unbeatable looking Xbox 360 may fare better in the second half of 2008 and beyond.
peachey @ July 18, 2008