After five years of record growth, the videogame industry stumbled in 2000, due in large part to Sony's PlayStation 2 shortages and the decision by many consumers to delay purchasing an advanced game system until this year, when more choices will become available.
Total sales for videogame consoles, software and accessories fell 5% to $6.5 billion in 2000, according to NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y. That's in sharp contrast to the 12% growth the videogame industry saw in 1999, when overall sales hit $6.9 billion.
Last year was a transition year for the industry, as Sony Computer Entertainment America launched PS2 ahead of Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox, both expected in 2001. Had Sony shipped its promised 1 million PS2 units at the system's launch on Oct. 26, the videogame industry would have matched last year's numbers, according to several industry experts.
PC Data, an independent research firm in Reston, Va., estimates that retailers sold 1.4 million PS2s in 2000 for an estimated sales total of $433.9 million. Many of these systems shipped late in the year, however, since Sony failed to meet its revised launch units of 500,000 and did not deliver consistently on its promise of 100,000 units per week shipped thereafter. As a result, PS2 software sales were also slow.
Shortages of Sony's original PlayStation console last summer, combined with disappointing sales of Sega's advanced Dream-cast system, added to the decline. NPD reported a 20% drop in console sales to $1.1 billion for 2000.
The overall industry decline "was to be expected" because of the transitional period, said NPD Interactive Entertainment account manager Richard Ow. "The bear stock market and low consumer confidence also contributed to a slow year."
While dollar sales were down, unit sales were up slightly. According to NPD, unit sales of hard ware, software and accessories rose 1% to 191.4 million in 2000. Game Boy Color systems and software continued to sell extremely well--portable software sales rose 26% in dollar terms and 28% in units. And the portable accessories category was up 56% in dollars and 76% in units over 1999.
Game software accounted for more than 63% of the industry's units and dollars in 2000.
Bolstered by a strong lineup of such best-selling games as Diablo II, The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, PC game sales rose 7% to $1.6 billion in 2000, since PCs were not affected by hardware shortages.
Top-selling videogames of 2000 Release Average Rank Title Platform Publisher date price 1 Pokemon, Silver GBC Nintendo 10-00 $27 2 Pokemon Gold GBC Nintendo 10-00 $27 3 Pokemon Yellow GBOY Nintendo 10-99 $26 4 Pokemon Stadium N64 Nintendo 3-00 $59 5 The Sims W95/W98 Electronic Arts 2-00 $41 6 Toby Hawk's Pro Skater: 2 PS Activision 9-00 $40 7 Legend of Zelda: Majara's Mask N64 Nintendo 10-00 $60 8 Toby Hawk's Pro Skater N64 Activision 9-99 $80 9 Gran Turismo 2 PS Sony 12-00 $32 10 Pokemon Blue GBOY Nintendo 9-98 $25 Source: NPD Interactive Entertainment Software Service Top sellers by platform Units Rank Title Publisher Sold [*] PlayStation 2 1 Madden NFL 2001 Electronic Arts 0.66 2 Tekken Tog Tournament Namco 0.88 3 SSX Electronic Arts 0.32 4 NHL 2001 Electronic Arts 0.19 5 Ridge Racer V Namco 0.12 6 Midnight Club Street Racing Rockstar Games 0.12 7 Smuggler's Run Rockstar Games 0.12 8 Summoner THQ 0.12 9 TimeSplitters Eidos 0.12 10 Dead of Alive 2: Hardcore Tecmo 0.11 PlayStation 1 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 Activision 1.55 2 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Activision 1.80 3 Gran Turismo 2 Sony 1.16 4 Madden NFL 2001 Electronic Arts 0.99 5 Final Fantasy IX Square EA 0.99 6 WWF Smockdown! THQ 0.98 7 Driver 2 Infogrames 0.80 8 WWF Smockdown! 2: Know Your Role THQ 0.76 9 Syphon Filter 2 989 Studios 0.71 10 Driver Infogrames 0.66 Dreamcast 1 NFL 2KI Sega 0.90 2 Crazy Taxi Sega 0.75 3 NBA 2KI Sega 0.50 4 Shenmue Sega 0.46 5 Resident Evil: Code Veronica Capcom 0.44 6 NHL 2K Sega 0.86 7 World Series Baeball 2KI Sega 0.35 8 Sonic Adventure Sega 0.88 9 NBA 2K Seta 0.31 10 Tony Hawk's Pro skater 2 Activision 0.29 Nintendo 64 1 Pokemon Stadium Nintendo 1.70 2 The Legend of Zeida: Major's Mask Nintendo 1.21 3 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Activision 1.01 4 Perfect Dark Nintendo 0.94 5 WWF No Mercy THQ 0.76 6 Mario Party 2 Nintendo 0.70 7 Star Wars: Episode 1--Racer Nintendo 0.63 8 The World Is Not Enough Electronic Arts 0.52 9 Mario Tennis Ninetendo 0.50 10 Dankey Kong 64 THQ 0.50 Source: PC Data (*.)units in millions