LOS ANGELES – Just how big is the videogame music genre? Last year, music videogames, which were once roughly 10% of the size of sports videogame sales in the U.S., raked in $2 billion at retail in the U.S., edging out sports games' $1.9 billion take, according to Jeremy Miller, analyst at Strategic Game Consulting. “Much of this growth was driven by higher priced bundles such as $200 band kits, and by the fourth quarter, sales momentum began to slow, as the market began to see saturation and recessionary pressures,” said John Taylor, videogame analyst, Arcadia Research. “By year end 2008, about 30% of Xbox 360 owners had bought a 'Guitar Hero' game, compared to about 24% of Wii owners and 20% of PlayStation 3 owners.”
