While gaming retailers all over the world eagerly waited for the release of ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops,’ retailers in the UK had faith that they would be able to make up for the year’s low sales with the sale of just one blockbuster. While the long awaited game sold out in hours, the UK retail game industry was still in the red. For the second year in a row, video game sales are down in the UK, and while industry insiders are optimistic, there is no evidence that indicates that sales will pick up. Amid a worldwide economic crisis, gamers have resorted to doing without in order to pay for their necessities. Gaming parties where participants trade games and other gaming accessories, have become much more popular. Instead of purchasing new releases, video game players will frequently wait until the game is on sale or will just buy a pre-owned copy instead.
One area that show potential is the social gaming industry. On the Internet, gamers who are a part of social networking websites are able to play games online for free, but they also have the option of purchasing tokens or credits in order to receive limited edition items. Estimates show that approximately £4.5 million was made via social networking games in 2010 alone. New accessories such as the Kinect by Microsoft will help UK retailers to make more money. Even consumers that hold onto their money tightly will get around to purchasing these types of gaming accessories sometime in the future.
