TECH NEWS – Console sales could have been even higher if not for the problems plaguing the industry.

 

 

Contrary to all rumours to the contrary, consoles seem to be doing well. Earlier this year Ampere Analysis predicted the sales pace of various companies in 2022, and this time the firm’s head of research Piers Harding-Rolls has estimated the market’s spending in 2021.

According to the staggering figures shared by VGC, global spending on consoles and related video games, content and services would rise to more than $60 billion. Ampere Analysis’ reading points out that severe shortcomings have hampered the market’s performance in the industry.

 

 

 

 

However, price increases for next-generation consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox X series compared to models such as the PS4 Slim and Xbox One S would have compensated somewhat for the shortage of stock, resulting in record figures.

Increased demand for subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass also helped to boost spending.

For games, expansion packs, battle passes and in-game microtransactions, spending was down 1% compared to 2020, still a very small decline given the context of last year and severe cuts.

 

 

 

 

Sony retained its market share lead with 46% of the market, followed by Nintendo with 29%, a 2% decrease compared to 2020, while Microsoft increased by 1% to 25%. Consumption of games distributed in physical format will fall below 30% for the first time, with the Nintendo Switch the leading platform in a market that is increasingly abandoning the traditional format.

Console gaming services grow 20% year on year, with Xbox Game Pass reaching 25 million subscribers by early 2022.

Source: VGC

(Thanks to Ampere Analysis for the figures!)