Video games was a major beneficiary of Coronavirus (COVID-19), with sales rebounding from 2019’s decline to see dynamic growth in 2020. Home seclusion, due to lockdowns and working/learning from home, drove video games demand in 2020, with non-essential retail closures not a major problem, as consumers were happy to make their video game purchases online. Growth will remain strong in 2021, with continued lockdowns, and should remain in positive territory throughout the forecast period.
This report comes in PPT.
The Western European market is largely driven by sales of consoles, due to their high installation base. It is therefore expected that sales of video games generally will continue to be highly dependent on sales of static consoles. Following the boost provided by the release of the Nintendo Switch, late 2020 saw the most recent spike as the two other major hardware players released their new products: the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Limited options for social activities and travel throughout much of 2020 resulted in households being confined to their homes and needing to find ways to entertain themselves. This helped drive sales of video games in Western Europe, as disposable spending shifted from holidays and away-from-home activities to in-home entertainment. Gaming was even a way for people to indulge in joint activities during periods when individual households were in lockdown.
Although some parts of the region have been slower at adopting the move from physical sales to downloads, it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a shift in preferences, especially among the younger generations. The high level of connectivity to which these consumers are accustomed is driving growth in sales of video games software, as well as mobile gaming. The pandemic only served to speed up this trend, not least given the closure of non-essential retail outlets.
Online games and mobile games are expected to see further growth in popularity. Online and mobile titles can often be free to play, with players then encouraged to move up to a new level with in-game purchases. More free-to play online titles, which generate revenue mainly from in-game purchases, are expected, as many leading developers will build their revenue strategies around in-game purchases.
This is the aggregation of traditional toys and games and video games.
See All of Our DefinitionsIf you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extraction Free!