EOC - Week 2: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

The state of the economy has hit many markets very hard, but none quite so hard recently as the video game industry. The arrival of the decline in market value has come about rather quickly. In fact, "As recently as six months ago, the video game industry was racking up strong growth even as other businesses reported sharp declines in sales and profits" (Kane, WSJ). While families have been buying games for as much as $70 (or much more, if you include the console and accessories), there has been an abrupt halt in sales. In 2009, video game sales reached $20.2 billion with the releases of such top-selling game consoles as the Wii, which sold 3.1 million units even though there had been "some rumblings that the Wii had started to lose some of its steam"(http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10435516-52.html#ixzz1JXZUPqN0).
The way I see it, there is much possibility in the future of video games, especially in new kinds of technology. Just look at Microsoft's Kinect hardware for the Xbox 360! The idea that 'you are the controller' has definitely found its place in the video game market. The Kinect has been called "the fastest-selling consumer electronics device in the world, having reached 10m sales in just a couple of months" (http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/21385-microsoft-is-bringing/). I think gaming consoles such as the Kinect are going to be a star in this market. It's an entirely new product with high growth rate. I'm sure other companies are scrambling to figure out how to top the Kinect. Wii was first to put real control in your hands (not just simulated by the old school controllers of PlayStation and others). Kinect topped it by getting rid of the hand-held controller all together!
What is definitely dead is the era of Gameboy. I haven't seen any ads for any Gameboy games, systems, or accessories. I think the Gameboy is antiquated already. It was huge when I was growing up. But even then, it was only for maybe 6 or 7 years. Then we got PlayStation. Then we got to business.
The future of gaming is all in the technology. Who is going to be the next company with the next big thing to revolutionize this already continuously revolutionizing industry? Only time can tell.