NPD Reports Annual 2001 U.S. Interactive Entertainment Sales Shatter Industry Record.Business, Entertainment and High Tech EditorsPORT WASHINGTON Port Washington, uninc. town (1990 pop. 15,387), Nassau co., SE N.Y., a suburb of New York City, on the north shore of Long Island and Manhasset Bay. There is extensive manufacturing, much of it reflecting the region's past association with the aircraft and aerospace , N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2002 A softening softening /sof·ten·ing/ (sof´en-ing) malacia. softening a change of consistency, with loss of firmness or hardness. economy and the effects of September 11 did not stop the video game industry from experiencing an all-time record high last year. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. The NPD Group The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading global market research company[1] founded in 1967 and provides consumer and retail information to manufacturers and retailers. Using actual sales data from retailers and distributors as well as consumer-reported purchasing behavior, NPD , Inc., leading market information provider, retail sales of U.S. video games See video game console. hardware, software and accessories increased 43 percent in dollars in 2001 versus the prior year. The total U.S. video game industry grew from $6.6 billion in 2000 to $9.4 billion in 2001, breaking 1999's all-time record of $6.9 billion. This extraordinary growth in 2001 was triggered in part by the launch of three new gaming systems: Nintendo's GameCube and Game Boy Advance and Microsoft's Xbox. According to NPDFunworldSM, total video game hardware unit sales unit sales Sales measured in terms of physical units rather than dollars. Unit sales data are often used by financial analysts when evaluating the health of a company. increased by 39 percent in 2001, compared to one year earlier. Next-generation console systems such as GameCube, Xbox and Sony PlayStation Sony Playstation - Playstation 2, selling at higher price points, led to a triple-digit increase of over 120 percent in dollars for annual 2001 versus 2000. In portables, Game Boy Advance continued to surpass its predecessors, Game Boy and Game Boy Color The Game Boy Color (ゲームボーイカラー . In fact, Game Boy Advance dominated the portable market in 2001 with a 22 percent increase in hardware unit share, compared to the prior year. Another strong performer was the accessory accessory, in criminal law, a person who, though not present at the commission of a crime, becomes a participator in the crime either before or after the fact of commission. category. In 2001, video game accessories A video game accessory is a separate piece of hardware that is required to use a video game console, or one that enriches the video game's play experience. Essentially, video game accessories are everything except the console itself, such as controllers, memory, power adapters (AC), and sold 26 percent more units than in 2000 and generated a dollar growth increase of 47 percent. PlayStation 2 accessories led all platforms in accessory sales in 2001, a 517 percent unit sales increase from 2000. Portable accessory units were up 10 percent overall in 2001, compared to the year before. "Last year was a tremendous rebound rebound (rē´bownd), n/v 1. a recovery from illness. n 2. an outbreak of fresh reflex activity after withdrawal of a stimulus rebound adjective from a slightly lower sales year in 2000. The impact from the next generation console systems was nothing short of record-breaking during the holidays," said Ilene Haase, director of toys and video games, NPDFunworld. "Three different gaming consoles See video game console. , priced at $200 to $300 price points, sold through more than a million pieces last holiday season. Last year will be a tough year to top since higher-priced hardware systems drove the majority of the dollar growth. As for 2002 and beyond, we look forward to seeing the industry move towards connectivity via the Internet and a new level of superior quality games that can harness the power of these technologically-advanced machines," added Haase. According to NPD NPD New Product Development NPD Nouveau Parti Démocratique (Canada) NPD Narcissistic Personality Disorder NPD Norwegian Petroleum Directorate NPD Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands , sales of the total U.S. interactive entertainment software market, which includes PC entertainment and video game software, approached $6 billion last year versus $5.4 billion in 2000. Console and portable software sales rose 8.3 percent in unit sales, compared to 2000, while PC entertainment software experienced a unit increase of 3.8 percent. The number one console title, ranked according to units sold, was Sony's PlayStation 2, Grand Theft Auto 3 by Rockstar Games “R*” redirects here. For *R, see Hyperreal number. Rockstar Games is a development division of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive, based in New York City, United States. The brand is most known for the Grand Theft Auto series. . Grand Theft Auto 3 sold just under two million units since its release in October 2001. The Sims by Electronic Arts was the number one PC entertainment game, it sold over 2.6 million units life-to-date, and debuted more than two years ago. The Sims franchise continues to spark software game sales with four titles appearing in the top ten, according to NPDTechworldSM. PC games were supported by the release of Harry Potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: People
"Sales in the PC game sector during 2001 were largely driven by a handful of proven franchises and correlating sequels or expansion sets," said Steve Koenig, senior software analyst, NPDTechworld. "As a result, the market for PC games managed to achieve relatively good growth in 2001, despite the gaming industry's strong focus on the console business during the last half of the year," added Koenig.
2001 Top 10 Video Game Titles, Sorted by Units
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RANK PLATFORM / TITLE PUBLISHER RELEASE DATE ARP
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1 PS2 Grand Theft Auto 3 Rockstar Games OCT '01 $50.33
(Take 2 Interactive)
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2 PS2 Madden NFL 2002 Electronic Arts AUG '01 $49.62
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3 GBC Pokemon Crystal Nintendo of America JUL '01 $29.24
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4 PS2 Metal Gear Solid 2 Konami of America NOV '01 $48.57
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5 GBA Super Mario Advance Nintendo of America JUN '01 $29.85
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6 PS2 Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec Sony JULY '01 $49.70
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7 PS2 Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 Activision OCT '01 $47.82
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8 PSX Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 Activision SEPT '00 $28.83
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9 GBC Pokemon Silver Nintendo of America OCT '00 $29.17
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10 PSX Driver 2 Infogrames NOV '00 $29.52
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Source: NPDFunworld TRSTS Video Games
2001 Top 10 PC Titles, Sorted by Units
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RANK TITLE PUBLISHER RELEASE DATE ARP
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1 The Sims Electronic Arts NOV '99 $41
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2 MP Roller Coaster Tycoon Infogrames FEB '99 $23
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3 Harry Potter & The
Sorcerer's Stone Electronic Arts NOV '01 $28
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4 Diablo 2 Expansion Set:
Lord of Destruction Vivendi Universal JUNE '01 $34
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5 The Sims: House Party
Expansion Pack Electronic Arts FEB '01 $28
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6 The Sims: Livin' Large
Expansion Pack Electronic Arts DEC '99 $28
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7 The Sims: Hot Date
Expansion Pack Electronic Arts NOV '01 $27
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8 Diablo 2 Vivendi Universal MARCH '99 $38
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9 Sim Theme Park Electronic Arts NOV '99 $19
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10 MS Age of Empires:
Age of Kings Microsoft AUG '99 $41
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Source: NPDTechworld
About The NPD Group, Inc. The NPD Group is the leading provider of comprehensive marketing information collected and delivered online for a wide range of vertical markets. By tracking both purchasing behavior and attitudes among the same consumers, NPD offers subscribers unique insight into what's happening in their industries and why. NPD also measures both retail product movement and e-commerce for a complete view of each market tracked. Consumer data are collected through the firm's Online Panel, which has access to over 3 million individuals, and will be delivered through a series of marketing information portals, launching throughout the year. Markets tracked by NPD include apparel, automotive products, consumer electronics, cosmetics cosmetics, preparations externally applied to change or enhance the beauty of skin, hair, nails, lips, and eyes. The use of body paint for ornamental and religious purposes has been common among primitive peoples from prehistoric times (see body-marking). and fragrances, food, foodservice, footwear Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet. It is worn for a variety of reasons, including protection against the environment, hygiene and adornment. Usually, socks and other hosiery are worn between the feet and the footwear, except for sandals and flip flops (thongs). , housewares house·wares pl.n. Cooking utensils, dishes, and other small articles used in a household, especially in the kitchen. , information technology, video games, toys, music and more. The firm has offices and affiliations in 51 countries, covering North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information on The NPD Group, visit http://www.npd.com. |
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