VentureBeat - Can we panic now? — Core gaming has a problem.
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all taking an extra beat because they don’t really know what gaming is going to look like in two years. It’s a war of attrition, and the winner is very likely going to be the manufacturer who makes the fewest number of mistakes. As a result, it seems like the industry is suffering perhaps more than it actually is. The NPD group tracking numbers show that February sales are down significantly from the same time frame in 2011. That alone wouldn’t be much of an issue, but third-parties like Sega are probably assuming that this is a trend that’ll continue until the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 hit store shelves. With the news that Microsoft will definitely not reveal a new console at this summer’s E3, Sega and THQ are likely attempting to conserve their last bit of money until the next generation can drum up consumer excitement.