The gaming industry has continued to grow from strength to strength during the pandemic. While more traditional platforms have struggled with adapting to pandemic life, games appear to have prospered. Whether this trend will continue remains to be seen, but the report of GamesIndustry.Biz gives insight into gamings success in 2020.
The Report
The GamesIndustry.Biz report has assessed the financial findings of major publishers such as Ubisoft, Take-Two, EA, Activision Blizzard and Nintendo. Furthermore, the report investigates the sales of hardware. All this has data has been compiled to give tangible insight into the gaming industry in 2020.
The gaming industry saw a sharp increase in engagement. In fact, the US, UK, EU, Japan and Australia all saw game sales grow. The sales of consoles also rose in the US and remained profitable elsewhere.
Interestingly, the release of the next generation of consoles did not lead to a huge lift in console sales. With that said, supply issues have impacted the releases of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Established consoles like the Nintendo Switch managed to sell very well in the UK and jumped 53% in sales compared to 2019.
The data provided in the report offers added insight when it is put alongside survey information. Furthermore, it sheds light on game time over the pandemic and the growing popularity of gaming.
What Gamers Are Saying?
Experience12 found that gamers were spending more time on their respective systems during the lockdown. Gamers reported playing games for 9.8 hours in a week pre-lockdown and noted a sharp increase to 15.1 hours. Equally, ‘non-fans’ saw their gaming time grow from 5.5 to 8.5 hours.
This growth in gaming hours has seemingly lead to the completion of games and the desire to purchase more. Equally, it seems that franchises still reign supreme in most gaming markets.
Franchises may not be causing as much buzz as new IP’s, but they are the best sellers. The likes of FIFA 21 and Call of Duty dominate the sales charts in the UK. This opposes findings on the most anticipated games of 2020 but does provide insight into established fandoms and recurring players.
2021
At the moment, we are still coming out of a lockdown. With that in mind, these trends in gaming purchases look set to continue. Furthermore, with franchises continuing to push annual releases, it won’t be too surprising to see Call of Duty and FIFA dominate the UK charts again in 2021.
We found that the PlayStation 5 was more desired than the Xbox Series X by gamers, and this still seems to be the case. Particularly as the PlayStation 5 performs better commercially. With that said, few would have predicted the further rise of the Nintendo Switch.
As lockdowns begin to ease the future is still unclear. However, it seems that the gaming industry is set to continue being a multi-billion powerhouse in the entertainment world.
