(Image Source: IGN)

BY ADNAN S. KHAN

ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO

Looks like Santa Claus gave out fewer video games last Christmas... and it cost the industry about $1.08 billion, according to market research firm NPD.
 

That’s a 21 percent drop in video game sales when compared to December 2010. A big surprise for many industry analysts considering some of the year’s top titles came out in late 2011. Video game sales for the whole year were down 8 percent.
 

So what kept the video gaming industry from getting those high scores for the holidays? A writer for Forbes takes a gander and explains the situation with one word – ‘Mobile.’
 

“Smartphones, tablets, time spent on messing around with smartphones and tablets. Plus streaming video on television and multiple other platforms ... Mobile app downloads in the US grew by more than 120% over Christmas 2011 even as consumers spurned video game consoles and movie theaters. Is there a link?”


And PC Magazine says the mobile-pwnage laid down on the video gaming industry has more to do with the consoles themselves. The magazine talked to an analyst for the NPD Group who says the consoles are just getting too old.


“Overall industry results are not entirely surprising given that we are on the back end of the current console lifecycle, combined with the continued digital evolution of gaming...”


And Los Angeles Times mirrors that viewpoint. It interviewed another analyst from Wedbush Securities who says...

“The stores were empty. They only came back during the week just before Christmas. Consoles in particular are way down. It’s weird, but people don’t seem to see them as gifts anymore.”


But back in December, a writer of Wired might have predicted the lower sales because of a particular game released in November. In an article titled ‘Why Skyrim is Bad For the Economy’ he explains...


“Skyrim’s hundreds of hours of gameplay may prevent me from contributing to the economy by keeping me occupied and unproductive, but it does damage in another way, too. Typically, during the busiest part of the game calendar, I would have played a half dozen games during the fourth quarter. Instead, I have played only one. Meanwhile, great games like Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Modern Warfare 3, and Saint’s Row 3 will have to wait.”

Joystiq reports Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was -- surprise -- the top selling game of 2011 with Just Dance taking second and Skyrim taking third.

The NPD’s data couldn’t explain how a seizure-inducing game about funky dance moves...

...Beat out a seizure-inducing game about literally stabbing dragons in the face.

But the organization did suggest 2012 will be all about digital distribution of games.