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Videogame sales slump further in August, but Xbox 360 is king

Microsoft Xbox 360Video game hardware and software sales in US declined 10 percent in August, according to a report by market researcher NPD Group. Year-to-date numbers aren’t any better, with revenues dropping 8 percent compared to last year. The August numbers tell an interesting story: Sales of game software dove 14 percent, compared to the 5-percent slide for consoles and portables.

Falling 12 percent, August was the weakest month for the Nintendo Wii ever since its 2006 launch. The news doesn’t get better for Nintendo, which saw sales of its touch-screen Nintendo DS plummet 38 percent. The company is planning a successor model to the DS with a 3D screen, expected in March 2011. Despite declining sales, the Wii remains one of the best selling consoles of all time.

But it’s not all doom and gloom in the report. For the third month in a row, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 outsold Sony’s PlayStation 3, PSP, Nintendo DS, and the Wii. In fact, both PS3 and Xbox 360 sales have seen their sales volume go up while the Wii declined. Microsoft will likely continue to have strong sales in anticipation of its Kinect motion-sensing accessory with a free game, expected in November.

Sony’s Move controller, which strongly resembles the Wii’s wand, will go on sale this month and will probably impact Nintendo’s sales numbers even more.

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Fahmida Y. Rashid
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nintendo’s eShop closures are a necessary, but messy move
A Nintendo Wii U gamepad flat on a table.

Nintendo last week announced its intentions to shut down the Wii U and 3DS eShops, the systems' digital storefronts, in March 2023. This decision was disappointing for hardcore fans who stuck with Nintendo during that rocky era and extremely worrying as many of the games available on the platforms won't be preserved.
More significant Wii U games and a handful of 3DS titles were ported to Switch, but many titles are still stuck on those systems and can’t be ported. Once the digital storefront shutdowns, digital-only titles will be gone forever, and physical copies of these titles will get more expensive and harder to experience. Fans and game preservationists have not been pleased by this decision, with the Video Game History Foundation giving the most candid response.
https://twitter.com/GameHistoryOrg/status/1494398068346654720
Following this announcement, Digital Trends spoke to an industry analyst and game preservationists to get a better idea of what exactly caused Nintendo to shut down these stores and to learn how it could do a better job at preserving its legacy.
Why is Nintendo shutting down the 3DS and Wii eShops?
Officially, Nintendo’s FAQ on the eShop closures says “this is part of the natural life cycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time." The answer doesn’t get into specifics and might confuse those still playing games on the system or fans of games only available on Wii U or 3DS. Omdia Principal Analyst Matthew Bailey explains Nintendo’s user base argument in more detail, highlighting the massive gap between the number of people playing the Switch as opposed to the Wii U.
“While Omdia expects the number of Switch consoles in active use to exceed 90 million on a global basis this year, the Wii U’s global active installed base will drop under one million in 2022,” he explains. “Even when you include the more enduring 3DS family of consoles into the equation, the Switch still comfortably accounts for over 90% of Nintendo’s total active console install base.”
If one is going off just the numbers, it’s sensible that Nintendo would want to focus on the majority of its players. Bailey admits that “Switch users are already reaping the benefits of Nintendo’s singular first-party development focus on one platform.” Still, one might argue that Nintendo should just let the eShops remain up even if it isn’t actively updating or maintaining them.

Unfortunately, Nintendo doesn’t see that as possible due to cost and security issues. Game Over Thrity, a Twitter user with over 20 years of experience working on IT projects and infrastructure, shed some light on what might have influenced Nintendo’s decision-making in a thread.
“As these systems age, they require patches, security, special contracts, updates, and personnel that know how they were built (and maintained),” his Twitter thread explains. “As time goes on, there are security holes, servers, code, infrastructure, etc., that can’t be brought up to modern standards. It becomes a constant struggle between maintaining legacy systems, paying people to do so, and trying to keep up with global regulations. It’s not cheap by any means. They can’t just ‘leave the lights on’ and stop supporting them. What if someone hacked the payment processor?”
With every passing year, the Wii U and 3DS eShops likely became more expensive to maintain and an increased security risk for the video game publisher. Instead of investing the time and resources into pleasing a smaller amount of players, the easier option is to turn everything off entirely. While he isn’t affiliated with Nintendo, Game Over Thirty’s assessment aligns with what we’ve heard from Nintendo and Omdia.
"The Wii U’s global active installed base will drop under one million in 2022."

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We're just over a year into this console cycle and it's still nearly impossible for a normal person to get their hands on new hardware. The PlayStation 5 has been notoriously difficult to find since it launched, with the Xbox Series X also facing the same shortages. Even Nintendo is suffering now despite the Switch being on the market since 2017. We all hoped these shortages would start to resolve themselves by now, and yet reports are coming in saying these consoles are likely to be scarce through 2022.

While this is an issue for consumers and the console makers in the immediate sense, this extended scarcity has created a ripple effect in the market. This entire culture of carefully watching retailers for updates just to have a chance to buy a console has burned gamers. We're basically learning that if you don't throw down your money as fast and as early as possible, then you may not get that new console for a year -- or even two.

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Cloud and Tifa in Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Prime Day may have come and gone, but there's still a chance to enjoy massive savings when buying more games for your platform of choice because some Prime Day video game deals are still available. Whether you're a casual collector or a hardcore completionist, there's surely something that can catch your eye in the last-minute Prime Day deals, which cover not just video games but also gaming consoles and their accessories. Amazon hasn't discounted the prices of recently launched games by much, but older titles are receiving major price cuts, which is great if there are a lot of games that you missed when they were first released. It's better to have a backlog than to find yourself with nothing to play after beating or growing tired of a game, so now's your chance to maximize your budget and buy several games at once. You might also want to think about buying games in genres that are outside your comfort zone, as you may end up with a new favorite.

After browsing through the Prime Day video game sales that are still available, make sure that you still have time to check out the remaining Prime Day gaming deals. Browse through offers for your favorite console with Prime Day PS4 deals, Prime Day Xbox One deals, and Prime Day Nintendo Switch deals. A new PlayStation 4 or Xbox One are good purchases, even with the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, as these consoles will not be fading away anytime soon. However, if you prefer to play on the PC, it might be time for an upgrade with Prime Day gaming laptop deals and Prime Day PC deals. If you'd like to focus on buying new games, you should also consider buying accessories that can help you play better -- check out the Prime Day monitor deals, Prime Day gaming headset deals, and Prime Day gaming chair deals. The aftermath of Prime Day is still a great opportunity to build out your gaming arsenal, but you need to hurry if you want to be able to buy everything that you need before the offers disappear. Make sure to look outside to Amazon, too. The Walmart Deals for Days sale is still underway!
Best Prime Day video game deals still available

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