Video game sales soared to a record $18.2 billion last year, but the days of strong growth are on pause as players await a new generation of consoles in 2005 and 2006, a new study showed on Wednesday.
Recent price cuts in Europe for Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation 2 plus new releases in reliably selling franchises such as "Grand Theft Auto", "Halo" and "Doom" are expected to boost sales in the second half of 2004.
But sales for the entire year are expected to be flat compared to 2003, at $18.2 billion, said London-based research group Screen Digest in its annual study.
Screen Digest pointed out that the slowdown had been long anticipated as it follows the typical trend for game consoles entering their third and fourth years on store shelves.
"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.
Over the past decade, the growth rate for video game turnover has exploded, rivaling cinema box office takings and CD sales in several major markets.
Screen Digest defined the market in its annual report as including video games for personal computers and consoles such as PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube, plus "edutainment" titles, or hybrid entertainment-education software.
Global video game sales growth in 2003 was led by Europe, and in particular Britain, Screen Digest said.
The British video game market, the third-largest in the world behind the United States and Japan, jumped almost 20 percent to $1.88 billion. The Western European market climbed 21 percent to $6.4 billion, the researchers said.
Screen Digest predicted global retail sales will rise a further 16 percent to $21.1 billion by 2007.
