Video-Gaming Industry - Sinking Faster Than The Titanic - Here's Some Tips So You Can Stay Afloat

According to the NDP Group, new retail video game hardware and software sales have plummeted in every single month of this year compared to 2011.
Industry-wide software was down 37 % in January, 24 % in February and 26% in March of 2012.

Hardware and accessory sales are showing similar figures.
But what exactly is causing this all? Although sales in hardware and software are down for every different console, Nintendo is 'suffering' the most.
They are the main reason for the industry-wide decline of sales. As you may remember the Nintendo Wii has been a huge success. Both hardware and software sales went to the roof since the Wii got launched in 2006.

Nintendo managed to attract consumers that had not yet been a part of the video game market before.

But unfortunately that did not last for long and around 2009 these same consumers found alternatives such as mobile phone and Facebook games.

Not only did Wii sales go down, but Nintendo's portable consoles suffered as well.

Sony and Microsoft have also seen a decline in their hardware and software sales but less significant than Nintendo, which is impressive, considering the xbox360 and PS3 are almost six and seven years old.

But how representative are NDP's figures? They are leaving out the market for downloadable games.
Even on consoles, NPD's data doesn't include significant money made by downloadable content. So is the gaming industry in as bad shape as NDP suggests? Well, sales are down, that's a fact. Don't forget, we are still in a recession. Video games and consoles are expensive and are considered luxury items.
More and more consumers are looking for other ways to acquire content, including full game and add-on content downloads, social network games, mobile games, rentals and subscriptions.

But a diehard gamer will not settle for these alternatives.

This kind of gamer is looking for high quality games with superb graphics, sound, story lines and great gameplay.
Right now there is nothing like an actual game console that can offer this all.

What can a gamer do to fulfill his needs whilst keep a little money in his pocket? Here are some tips for you. 1.

Used games The used games market is growing and is becoming a large part of the revenue of retailers. Also more and more retailers have entered the used games market.

Used games are about 25% cheaper than new games. 2.

Coupons and vouchers Coupons and vouchers are offered by retailers and can be found online. They can give you that little extra discount that makes you decide to pull the trigger. The downside is that there are thousands of websites that look for coupons and vouchers and that you have to find the right one that offers working coupons and vouchers.

3.

Price comparison websites like Pricegrabber, Nextag or Bizrate can help you find the best deals by comparing multiple retailers.
The downside is that these websites are not mainly focused on video games but on all consumer products.
4.

Affiliates An affiliate is a seller that is associated with one or more retailer(s) and receives a commission whenever the affiliate redirects a visitor to the retailer's website which then results in a sale. Affiliates can offer "used games", "coupons and vouchers" and "price comparison" all on one website. Affiliates are given promotion material by retailers to use on their websites. They also get information about deals and offers, coupons and vouchers which they can use to advertise on their website. Buying through an affiliate can save you a lot of hassle finding all the best deals, offers, coupons and vouchers yourself.

Plus affiliates also offer used games if the retailer that the affiliate is associated to has them to offer.

The affiliate can also compare prices and offer you the best deal they can find.