Retail analysts are predicting a gloomy 2011 for the gaming industry, although they believe the 3DS will do well.

Numerous retail analysts were recently contacted by Gamesutra and asked how they think 2011 will shape up for the video game retail industry and the outlook does not seem good.

The analysts state that while overall sales figures may remain steady it will be due to digital downloads evening out what they predict will be a sharp drop in retail sales. However, not all analysts predict a fall. Michael Pachter suggests that numbers will actually rise next year due to the 3DS and console price cuts that he anticipates will happen.

“The primary driver is the 3DS. The secondary driver is any console price cuts. If all three consoles go down by $50, that’s an easy 5 percent incremental growth for software – and I think all three are going to go down by $50 next year.”

While the analysts differ in certain aspects they all seem to believe that the 3DS could be the saving grace in retail and downloadable content will continue to grow during 2011. While forecasts may be considered educated guesswork the analysts have been conferring with industry executives and insiders. Whether their predictions will turn out to be correct remains to be seen.