London-Based Research Group Calls 2004 Game Sales Flat

Compared to the boom of 2003, videogame sales for 2004 might be a bust—or so predicts a London-based research group, Screen Digest, whose latest, annual study of the market suggests only “slow to stable growth” for the current year. Some say the tapering of sales could be attributed to gamers holding off until Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo release the next-generation of consoles sometime in the next two years. "2003 was the peak. But the slow to stable growth for 2004 is positive. There were a lot more consoles sold in this cycle than in the past one," said Ben Keen, executive director for Screen Digest, according to Reuters. 2003’s worldwide game sales clocked in at about $18.2 billion, with the group advancing a prediction of $21.1 billion in sales by 2007. The survey, commissioned by UK trade organization ELSPA, also noted that the game software market in the United Kingdom grew by 100 per cent from 1997 to 2003, compared to a 30 percent rise in box-office revenue and just 14 percent growth for DVD and VHS sales, and a slight decline of 4.5 percent for CD sales.