Summary
- Major gaming console sales in Europe dropped in 2024 due to market saturation and lack of new releases.
- The PlayStation 5 Pro was the only new console from big companies, but couldn't prevent overall sales decline.
- Overall gaming sales in Europe only saw a 1% increase in 2024, with digital sales rising and physical copies falling.
2024 was a challenging year for video game consoles across Europe, affecting all major platforms including the Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation. The year marked a noticeable decline in new console sales throughout the region, though the gaming industry as a whole wasn't entirely in the red.
The only new console release from the major gaming companies in 2024 was the PlayStation 5 Pro, an enhanced version of the existing PS5. Despite the excitement around this more powerful Sony console, it failed to reverse the downward trend in console sales across Europe compared to previous years.
According to a report by Video Games Chronicle, sales data revealed a significant 21% drop in console sales in Europe from the previous year. PlayStation, buoyed somewhat by the PS5 Pro launch, fared the best among the major consoles but still saw a 20% decrease in sales compared to 2023. The Nintendo Switch saw a 15% decline, while the Xbox Series X/S experienced a dramatic 48% drop. Analysts attribute this decline to market saturation, with the original PS5 and Xbox Series consoles having been released in 2020, and the Nintendo Switch back in 2017. Interestingly, on Amazon's US site, the Meta Quest 3S outsold all major gaming consoles in 2024, suggesting a broader trend of stagnation in traditional console sales.
Video Game Sales Shift and Growth Stagnates
Overall, the gaming market in Europe saw only a marginal increase in 2024, with a total of 188.1 million PC and console games sold, marking a mere 1% rise from the previous year. This modest growth likely fell short of many game publishers' expectations. The data also highlighted a significant shift in purchasing behavior, with digital game sales surging to 131.6 million units, a 15% increase over 2023, while physical game sales plummeted to 56.5 million units, a 22% decrease from the prior year.
Looking ahead, 2025 is anticipated to be a more robust year for gaming in Europe and globally, with the upcoming release of the Nintendo Switch 2 expected to drive significant sales. However, it's important to note that the 2024 console sales figures exclude data from key markets such as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria. Including these regions might have presented a less bleak picture for the year.
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