Video-Game Publishers See Another Blockbuster Year
After a blockbuster year with record sales, video-games publishers show no signs of letting up in 2008 as they prepare for the release of a parade of new titles for legions of gamers. The gaming community is already buzzing over the long-awaited release of such titles as Grand Theft Auto IV from Take-Two, Spore from Electronic Arts and Little Big Planet, a new game from Media Molecule, a small game developer.
Together, these new games could take the industry even higher. Despite fears of a slowdown in the economy and weak consumer spending, industry sales were up 52% to $13.2 billion, as of November, from a year ago. Gamers saw one of the biggest lineups ever with releases that included such blockbusters as Halo 3, Call of Duty IV, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero 3. The year clearly belonged to Activision, which not only topped sales charts through the crucial holiday season, but also pulled off a $18.9 billion merger with Vivendi Games to become the industry’s largest publisher.
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