Video Games in Australia

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Mobile gaming as the fastest-growing segment, with free-to-play models especially on the rise in 2019

Mobile gaming continued to gain popularity in Australia in 2019, having attracted a larger and newer audience than other platforms over the review period and in 2019. New forms of interactive and social gaming including chat fiction (digital book alternatives presented as text messages, which are widely attractive to teenagers) have been enabled as mobile gaming integrates with social media.

Riding on success in video games and in-game purchases, Electronic Arts Australia surpasses Sony to take the lead in video games in 2019

Electronic Arts assumed the lead in Australia’s video games market from Sony Computer Entertainment in 2019, due to its strong double-digit increase in value share in video games and an increase in its in-game purchases. Earlier in 2019, Electronic Arts Australia launched Apex Legends, which managed to sell a higher level of in-game items than any other free-to-play game and therefore helped boost the company’s market share.

Parents and teachers embrace Minecraft, one of most popular video games in Australia, as a strong education platform in 2019

Minecraft has been characterised as one of the best-selling video games of all time. It has maintained a strong presence on both its platforms and YouTube and has been experiencing healthy year-on-year growth ever since launching.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

In 2020, sales of video games are now expected to grow by 4% in constant 2019 value terms in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to a 5% rise in sales forecast in our 2019 edition of toys and games.

Affected products within video games

While Australians were forced to stay indoors during the second quarter of 2020, volume sales of static consoles and AR/VR headsets significantly increased. Moreover, while AR/VR headsets is set to see double-digit volume growth for the second consecutive year, volume growth of static consoles is expected to nearly triple during 2020 as a result of the increased time spent at home.

Recovery and opportunities

Demand for video games hardware, software and accessories surged in Australia towards the end of the review period and peaked during the first half of 2020 when COVID-related lockdowns resulted in a spike of demand for “hometainment” including video games. While demand for video games and all their accoutrements is expected to continue unabated over the forecast period; constant value growth is expected to slow down when customary business, social and physical activities resume and people resume their normal daily indoor/outdoor behavioural routines.

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