As for the consoles themselves, Microsoft's one-year head start on its rivals and popular online gaming service kept it in front. The company sold more than nine million Xbox 360s. The surprise of the year was Nintendo's Wii, 7.8 million of which were sold in 2007. Those sales came despite inventory shortages. Furthermore, unit sales doubled for Sony's Playstation 3, according to NPD.
NPD said that game accessory sales were up 37% to $621.6 million.
The booming market is good news not only for video game marketers, but also for marketers and advertisers looking to advertise in the games themselves. eMarketer projects that about two-thirds of a billion dollars will be spent on such ads in 2008.
At the same time, video game publishers are experimenting with new types of ad inventory. For instance, Electronic Arts mentioned in a January 2008 New York Times article that it is developing an extension of its "Battlefield" series. The game features more accessible cartoony characters and simplified gameplay. The ad-supported game will be released free of charge, with character clothing and ability upgrades available for small fees by microtransaction.
