The motion platforms "remain critical" and could "drive growth and excitement" among casual and mainstream types. They're a "primary catalyst".
"July 2010 is likely to be the last of the string of significant declines in software sales for 2010 as August and September 2010 are expected to produce stronger results," said EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich. Success will be compounded by Kinect and Move.
"EEDAR remains positive that the core genres such as Action, RPG, and Shooter will show robust gains this holiday season over 2009 with the release of Halo: Reach, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood," he added.
"The Kinect and Move remain critical products that could drive growth and excitement among the casual and mainstream consumer base. The Kinect and Move’s success or failure this holiday season will be the primary catalyst for overall industry growth or decline this holiday season," said Divnich.
"EEDAR expects hardware sales, a primary catalyst that drives future software sales, to remain strong through the end of 2010. EEDAR expects hardware units for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to show strong double digit growth, with the Wii and DS showing double digit declines. However, despite Wii’s declines compared to 2009, the Wii is still expected to remain the top selling console for holiday 2010," concluded the analyst.
There we are - things are looking up but they'd be even better if Kinect and Move manage to wow us this holiday and get consumers parting with stacks of cash.