Digital Videogame Sales Overtake Retail Sales

According to the NPD Group, retail videogame sales have finally fallen behind the intangible sale of digital games and it should be noted that the NPD Group counts game rentals and the sale of used games alongside what it refers to as other monetization methods. Physical distributors of new video games are beginning to feel some major heat from the scrappy competition and this mainstay segment still comprises the bulk of sales with $1.44 billion earned in the previous quarter, the combination of digital purchases, subscriptions, downloadable content, social network and mobile games. Digital sales are a rapidly growing force in the industry, but that alone does not yet trump retail sales and in the second quarter, total videogame sales, including hardware, content and accessories, was estimated at $4.5 billion, which represents an increase of one percent compared to the same period a year earlier....................