Quote: Industry analyst Michael Pachter say April and May's game sales results will be below expectations, as part of the blame is on gamers getting hooked onto the deep multiplayer modes in games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
With big games like Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Alan Wake, Prince of Persia, Lost Planet 2, Blur, SKATE 3, Iron Man 2, LEGO Harry Potter, UFC, and Shrek 4 all out in May, a huge month was expected, but Pachter says "several of these titles performed well below expectations."
"Alan Wake was launched the same day [as Red Dead Redemption], the Prince of Persia film did not provide the expected boost for the video game, Blur had a very weak launch, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 sold at only a mediocre level," said Pachter, categorising Red Dead Redemption - the only big seller - as a "breakout hit".
Pachter reckons player becoming absorbed in huge multiplayer modes, and thus seeing no need to buy new games, is partly to blame. But this is something that publishers could monetise, he added.
"In the future, we think that Activision will find a way to charge for some portion of online game play, and if successful, we think that other publishers will follow suit. ... With the early June launch of the second Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 map pack, we think that online game play will continue to be a drain on gamers' time and wallets, and think that sales could again slide into negative territory."
Activision has already said recently that players should "expect" paid-for online models such as those in World of Warcraft to make the transition to other games, including Call of Duty. | 
