Despite the number of major titles which were delayed in 2009 (these include the likes of Bioshock 2 and StarCraft 2) Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) has released a report revealing that game releases in 2009 were in fact slightly up when compared to previous years.
Citing figures from EEDAR’s GamePulse service, analyst Jesse Divnich told GameSpot that 1099 titles were released in 2009 in the US across all platforms – up just slightly from 2008’s 1092 releases.
“For just the current generation home consoles, 2009’s release quantities increase the total availability of games to consumers by 55 percent,” Divnich added.
The number of new titles released in a given year are however finding competition with ‘classic’ titles which have earned a constant spot on retail shelves. This decreases the shelf life of new releases, making it harder for them to compete.
“Unless retail shelf space grows by the same amount-and it isn’t-than the retail shelf life for an average game decreases dramatically. Additionally, each year there are at least 50 games that achieve a permanent spot on retail shelves (Greatest Hits, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, etc.), which decreases the total amount of retail space available for newer titles.”
When broken down by platform Divnich noted that DS and Wii releases saw a significant increase in 2009 while PS3 and Xbox 360 releases were slightly down. This trend could be attributed to the rise in popularity of digital download services through Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.
This will have a greater impact on game releases in 2010 said Divnich, who added that if digital release projects such as OnLive come to fruition it could see box retail game releases drop by almost 10 percent in the coming year.
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