Holiday Video Game Sales Record

"The video game industry is poised to enjoy a record-breaking holiday season. For that, it can thank Charlie Paulson, a 22-year-old garden store employee, and other 20-somethings."

"Aided by sales of games tailored for older teens and adults, the game industry is doing better than expected at what industry analysts say is the beginning of a normal cyclical downturn. Two games in particular - "Halo 2" and "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" - have each sold more than 3.3 million copies in the last two months."

"Overall sales of video games have been 11 percent higher so far this year than last year, according to NPD Group, a market research firm. Last year, the industry made 47 percent of its $7 billion in sales during the holiday quarter; this year, the holiday sales are expected to represent 50 percent of total sales, said William Lennan, an analyst with WR Hambrecht, a financial services firm. "It's going to be the biggest Christmas ever for video games," Mr. Lennan said. But he said the big question was whether sales would drop sharply next year as consumers put off buying games in anticipation of a new generation of game consoles expected in late 2005 and 2006."
Read the NYTimes Article
(you need to sign up if you haven't a membership)