Last February, a data analysis by GSD found that digital sales increased significantly compared to to 2019. The result was obtained by comparing the results obtained by the main game publishers and distributors, with an emphasis on the best-selling titles in European markets.
Now, according to a new analysis by the Entertainment Retailers Association (via PushSquare ), it seems that further confirmation has arrived, given that the 85% of total UK gaming spending (again based on last year) is relative to the digital games market.
In 2020 videogames accounted for 48% of total sales, confirming itself as one of the most prosperous entertainment sectors, in addition to the fact that the average cost of buying them has increased annually by 17.7%.
The report obviously considers the surge in coronavirus cases as one of the main causes of a certain detachment of the public from physical sales (especially due to forced at home from lockdown ). The popularity of the various PlayStation, Xbox and Valve stores has therefore skyrocketed.
Will the future of the video game market therefore increasingly be based on digital delivery ? Apparently the answer is only one: yes .
Although the physique is therefore destined for a slow but inexorable decline, sales in the retail market have not decreased , but have registered a slight increase during 2020 (in fact, we are talking about growth by 7.2% compared to the previous year, with an increase of 7.7% for gaming machines).
More than three million game consoles were sold in the UK last year, including over 450,000 PS5 units, 310,000 Xbox Series and 1.5 millions of Nintendo Switch devices (via GameIndustry.biz ).
The latest data from chart providers GfK and GSD and published by the Entertainment Retailers Association reveals more in-depth information on the performance of the UK gaming market during 2020.
In all likelihood, the trend will remain the same throughout 2021, also considering that the global health emergency does not seem to want to slow down its Corsican (also due to the numerous variants discovered all over the world, including Italy).
If you want to get your hands on your physical copy of FIFA 21, you can find it on Amazon at this link. The upgrade to next-gen consoles, in this case, is already included.
