BKK2 on 25 July 2008
US, probably calender years:
1992:
Super Nintendo: 7m HW / 22m SW / $2.5b total value
Genesis: 4.5m HW / 15m SW / $1.3b total value
Game Boy: 4m HW / 25m SW
NES: 3m HW (33m LTD) / 30m SW
Sega CD: 200k HW
16-bit: $3.8b
8-bit: $1.3b
Portable: $1b
1991:
Genesis: 1.6m HW
1990:
Genesis: 440k HW
New technology adds fuel to video game fire.
The entry of new 16-bit video game systems into the video game market has intensified the competition between the two leading video game manufacturers, namely Nintendo Company Ltd and Sega Enterprises Ltd. Both companies expect sales increases ranging from 40% to 60% in 1993. Meanwhile, analysts predict that video game retail stores that want to capitalize on the expected video game boom in 1993 should try to stock up on new 16-bit systems, as well as portable and 8-bit video game segments.
Sales of 16-bit systems keep category sizzling
With two major competitors battling head-on in the now dominant 16-bit segment of the market, the video game category emerged from 1992 with more record sales and plenty of ongoing momentum. Estimates are that 16-bit hardware and software accounted for about $4 billion worth of the almost $6 billion U.S. video game business last year. The figure represents sales of some 11 million hardware units and 37 million game cartridges. In 1991, when 8-bit was the primary video game format, total volume for the category was placed at $4.7 billion. Nintendo, which entered the 16-bit field full-scale in mid-1992, reports that it sold 7 million hardware units, and that 22 million pieces of software were sold for its Super Nintendo system, for a total volume of $2.5 billion. Sega, in its third year in the 16-bit market, says it sold 4.5 million pieces of its Genesis system in 1992, and that 15 million software pieces were sold, for a total volume of $1.3 billion. Despite this vigorous performance, industry leaders believe that only a third of the 16-bit market has so far been tapped. They anticipate that another 8-10 million hardware units will be sold in 1993, and see software sales increasing from 40 to 60 percent to a possible total of 50 million units. General acceptance of the 16-bit format, with its more advanced sound and graphics, has come quicker than even industry executives had anticipated.
Both market leaders, Sega and Nintendo, have staked strong claims to consumer loyalties and are attempting to match each other in terms of products, competitive price points and aggressive promotion. While Nintendo controls the other two segments of the video game category--8-bit and portable--Sega is proving a scrappy competitor in 16-bit, despite being outspent more than 2-1 by Nintendo in advertising. Sega also created a stir in 1992 by selling some 200,000 pieces of a new CD-ROM video game attachment at a $300 retail price. The 16-bit competition began in 1990, when Sega marketed its first Genesis unit at a $189 retail price, including software. The company sold 440,000 pieces that year. By 1991, 1.6 million units were being sold, and that business more than doubled in 1992.
The market exploded in early summer 1992, when stripped down 16-bit sets became available from both Nintendo and Sega at list prices below $100 This compared with a previous $150 price point for a hardware unit with only one controller. Sega and Nintendo also began marketing deluxe sets featuring two controllers and a high-demand software title, at lower retail price points than previously. Consumer response to these moves was highly positive, and heavy demand carried into the fourth quarter. Spurred by the high number of 16-bit game systems sold at Christmas time, software sales should be especially brisk in early 1993, believe industry executives. While the bulk of hardware sales will still be made in the final quarter, 16-bit game systems are also expected to continue selling year-round. Ultimately, say the executives, as many as 35 million 16-bit units could be installed in American homes.
Purchasers of the new 16-bit units and cartridges are primarily those persons who already own 8-bit systems, but who have decided to upgrade into a new generation of video games featuring technological innovation. About 50 percent of Nintendo's 16-bit purchasers are under the age of 15, and these persons account for some 65 percent of the company's 16-bit software volume. Yet the more sophisticated games, particularly in the sports area, are also drawing a number of older buyers to video game sections. Sega finds that 30 percent of its game users are 17 years of age or older, and that 40 percent are between the ages of 12 and 17. That's great for the toy chains, maintained Tom Kalinske, Sega's president, because it brings older consumers into the stores who would not normally be there.
In a new three-tiered market, 8-bit video games and systems now represent about 20 percent of the category's volume, amounting to $1.3 billion in 1992. Nintendo, which accounts for more than 95 percent of this business, says that 3 million of its 8-bit hardware units and 30 million software units were sold last year. Portable games amounted to a $1 billion business in 1992. During the year Nintendo sold four million Game Boy units, and 25 million software pieces for these units, according to Bill White, the company's director of marketing and corporate communications. Despite the impact of 16-bit, industry executives stress that a large, viable market remains for 8-bit games. White points out that at present 33 million Nintendo 8-bit systems are installed in U.S. homes. He anticipated that 3 to 4 million 8-b
The entry of new 16-bit video game systems into the video game market has intensified the competition between the two leading video game manufacturers, namely Nintendo Company Ltd and Sega Enterprises Ltd. Both companies expect sales increases ranging from 40% to 60% in 1993. Meanwhile, analysts predict that video game retail stores that want to capitalize on the expected video game boom in 1993 should try to stock up on new 16-bit systems, as well as portable and 8-bit video game segments.
Sales of 16-bit systems keep category sizzling
With two major competitors battling head-on in the now dominant 16-bit segment of the market, the video game category emerged from 1992 with more record sales and plenty of ongoing momentum. Estimates are that 16-bit hardware and software accounted for about $4 billion worth of the almost $6 billion U.S. video game business last year. The figure represents sales of some 11 million hardware units and 37 million game cartridges. In 1991, when 8-bit was the primary video game format, total volume for the category was placed at $4.7 billion. Nintendo, which entered the 16-bit field full-scale in mid-1992, reports that it sold 7 million hardware units, and that 22 million pieces of software were sold for its Super Nintendo system, for a total volume of $2.5 billion. Sega, in its third year in the 16-bit market, says it sold 4.5 million pieces of its Genesis system in 1992, and that 15 million software pieces were sold, for a total volume of $1.3 billion. Despite this vigorous performance, industry leaders believe that only a third of the 16-bit market has so far been tapped. They anticipate that another 8-10 million hardware units will be sold in 1993, and see software sales increasing from 40 to 60 percent to a possible total of 50 million units. General acceptance of the 16-bit format, with its more advanced sound and graphics, has come quicker than even industry executives had anticipated.
Both market leaders, Sega and Nintendo, have staked strong claims to consumer loyalties and are attempting to match each other in terms of products, competitive price points and aggressive promotion. While Nintendo controls the other two segments of the video game category--8-bit and portable--Sega is proving a scrappy competitor in 16-bit, despite being outspent more than 2-1 by Nintendo in advertising. Sega also created a stir in 1992 by selling some 200,000 pieces of a new CD-ROM video game attachment at a $300 retail price. The 16-bit competition began in 1990, when Sega marketed its first Genesis unit at a $189 retail price, including software. The company sold 440,000 pieces that year. By 1991, 1.6 million units were being sold, and that business more than doubled in 1992.
The market exploded in early summer 1992, when stripped down 16-bit sets became available from both Nintendo and Sega at list prices below $100 This compared with a previous $150 price point for a hardware unit with only one controller. Sega and Nintendo also began marketing deluxe sets featuring two controllers and a high-demand software title, at lower retail price points than previously. Consumer response to these moves was highly positive, and heavy demand carried into the fourth quarter. Spurred by the high number of 16-bit game systems sold at Christmas time, software sales should be especially brisk in early 1993, believe industry executives. While the bulk of hardware sales will still be made in the final quarter, 16-bit game systems are also expected to continue selling year-round. Ultimately, say the executives, as many as 35 million 16-bit units could be installed in American homes.
Purchasers of the new 16-bit units and cartridges are primarily those persons who already own 8-bit systems, but who have decided to upgrade into a new generation of video games featuring technological innovation. About 50 percent of Nintendo's 16-bit purchasers are under the age of 15, and these persons account for some 65 percent of the company's 16-bit software volume. Yet the more sophisticated games, particularly in the sports area, are also drawing a number of older buyers to video game sections. Sega finds that 30 percent of its game users are 17 years of age or older, and that 40 percent are between the ages of 12 and 17. That's great for the toy chains, maintained Tom Kalinske, Sega's president, because it brings older consumers into the stores who would not normally be there.
In a new three-tiered market, 8-bit video games and systems now represent about 20 percent of the category's volume, amounting to $1.3 billion in 1992. Nintendo, which accounts for more than 95 percent of this business, says that 3 million of its 8-bit hardware units and 30 million software units were sold last year. Portable games amounted to a $1 billion business in 1992. During the year Nintendo sold four million Game Boy units, and 25 million software pieces for these units, according to Bill White, the company's director of marketing and corporate communications. Despite the impact of 16-bit, industry executives stress that a large, viable market remains for 8-bit games. White points out that at present 33 million Nintendo 8-bit systems are installed in U.S. homes. He anticipated that 3 to 4 million 8-b
Link
Article ends there. HighBeam Research has lots of good articles, but it's a pay site. However, if you find an article you're interested in it's possible to read the whole article by repeatedly searching the last few words of the quoted text each time, the next quote will be slightly further along in the article. Laborious, but if there's an article you'd really like to read it's a handy tip.
