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Retail Video Game Sales Set For Slim Decline Over Xmas As Digital Grows

Global retail sales of game hardware, software and accessories are expected to continue their steady decline at the hands of the digital channel.

SuperData Research Inc. Analysts say the category will slip 2.2% to $13.1 billion compared to the previous holidays season.

They also partially attribute this retail downturn to a relatively weak and homogeneous holiday line-up from major games publishers.

Of the four big holiday releases, Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Watch_Dogs 2, three are military-based first person shooters and two even take place in mechanized science fiction settings.

While these figure might appear dire for the industry, it doesn’t account for mobile apps, digital releases or downloadable content – which are expected to add an additional $22.8 billion in sales.

Analysts are similarly lukewarm in their expectations for both the season’s VR offerings and new 4K-ready consoles from Microsoft and Sony.

“They may be coming a holiday too soon for the average gamer,” said Mike Hickey at investment bank Benchmark Co. told the Wall Street Journal.