The Video Game Sale Race

After a few dismal months in the early part of the year, video game sales have perked up in the past few months thanks to some exciting new additions from the industry.

September brought the release of the latest “Grand Theft Auto” game, “Grand Theft Auto 5”, for PS3 and Xbox 360. People had flocked to the stores to greedily grab their copies of the latest edition. Sales had continued to skyrocket for weeks to the point that the game was breaking world records.

According to the Guinness World Records site back in October, “Grand Theft Auto 5” broke six records including the fastest video game to gross $1 billion and the best-selling video game in 24 hours. On the site’s article, Greg Glenday, the Editor-in-Chief of the Guinness World Records, stated, “GTA totally deserves to be recognized as an icon of modern British culture, and we’re thrilled to be able to feature the game in the record books. Gaming is no longer a niche hobby, as GTA 5 has proved, and how exciting that it’s taken on the might of Hollywood and won! I’m also doubly proud as a Dundonian to welcome this home-grown series back into the Guinness World Records book.”

3DS brought in huge sales in October thanks in large part to the new “Pokemon: X & Y” games. Andrew Goldfarb, from IGN Entertainment, in his article on October game sales stated, “In a separate statement, Nintendo reported that more than 452,000 3DS systems were sold in the US in October, doubling last month and marking ‘the most units any portable video game system or home console has sold in a single month in 2013.’ Pokemon X and Y sold more than 1.7 million units, making October ‘the biggest month for Nintendo 3DS software all year.’”

Many gamers enjoy the new features the latest version has that include the Battlespot, Wonder Trade, Battle Recording, 3D battles, character creation/change, and of course new pokemon.

Last month alone we had the pleasure of Sony releasing its new PS4 game console and Microsoft releasing their Xbox One console. Both consoles have been sold out since the day of their release and will most likely continue to be sold out until well after Christmas. According to IGN Entertainment, Black Friday had the Xbox one charging ahead in sales.

“The data was collected from 102,000 tracked receipts from major North American retailers, such as Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart. Xbox One allegedly made up 31% of the console sales, with Xbox 360 following up at 30%. PS3 and PS4 apparently represented 15% of the retailer’s sales. Wii U comprised 6%, while the original Wii only made up 1% of tracked sales” (Mitch Dyer, IGN Entertainment).

But what system is better? The consoles have appealing qualities as well as pros and cons for each system. According to Matt Swider from the Techradar site, “Both systems are evenly matched in many respects and should be able to usher in the next generation of gaming that the Wii U hasn’t been able to deliver.” For those shopping for the consoles, you might want to put in some good research to see which fits the personality of the person you are shopping for, including yourself. Sites like Techradar and IGN Entertainment provide many good comparisons between the two to help people decide.

Other good sources to rely on for console opinions are the newly risen and popular vlogs made by icon gamers who post reviews on the games and game systems they test out. What better opinion for a game console than from the gamers themselves?

One such popular gamer vlog you could check out is the “The Jovenshire” Youtube channel, created by Joshua Ovenshire. Ovenshire is a contestant of the first season of the TBS show, executive producer and host of the 2011 series “Geek Down,”   and one of the six hosts and producer of the popular vlog Youtube channel series “Smosh Games“, a channel dedicated to game news, reviews, and strategy.

In his June vlog, “Xbox One VS PS 4 Facts,” the gamer Icon uses his experience from the E3 summer convention to provide detailed comparisons on both systems. He also provides advice on what to expect from the consoles before buying them.

Whether you decide to purchase a Xbox One or PS4 and the new games, it’s important to be aware of what they offer and the downsides they may have. All in all, it looks like the video game industry will be having a very successful year indeed.

Photos sourced from AxLiberty, Mike Mozart, and Airwolfhoud via Flickr. Video sourced from The Jovenshire via Youtube.