There were a lot of lockdowns last year, so what did Australians do to keep themselves entertained? It appears to be games. Last year, Australians spent nearly $4 billion on video games!
According to a new survey by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), Australians spent a lot of money on games during the second phase of the pandemic. Most of IGEA’s data came from consumer sales analysts Newzoo and GSD.
The majority of copies sold were mobile games, accounting for $1.51 billion of the total. Another $1.41 billion came through digital games, with traditional brick-and-mortar shopping accounting for $1.07 billion. The shift towards mobile gaming should come as no surprise: everyone has a smartphone in their pocket in today’s world, resulting an easy access to play online poker and install a game or two.
IGEA Chief Ron Curry about agrees with this notion too. “According to last year’s Digital Australia (DA22) study, mobiles were the second most frequent device used to play games, with 54 percent of households utilizing them for gaming,” Curry explained. “With this in mind, it’s no surprise that mobile accounted for the majority of consumer sales.” The pandemic has not had the same impact on mobile gaming as it has on consoles or AAA titles. This is also consistent with global trends, with mobile gaming currently becoming the main category for games.”
Console games that sold the best
All Switch heavyweights: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Minecraft: Switch Edition, had huge sales.
Although there were constant gear shortages, hardware sales drew in year-on-year spending growth. A large part of this was a frenetic drive by punters to get a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X system.
In terms of value, the PS5 was the best-selling console in 2021. Of course, the reason for that is its substantially higher price point compared to last-gen technology.
PC gaming also had a boom season, with digital sales of PC games increasing by 11.5 percent. The increases in expenditure on digital sales were more than on both consoles and mobile, which stayed below the global mean.
When it comes to the number of units sold in the Australian market, the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console.
“It was no surprise for IGEA to see consumer game sales and platforms perform strongly during 2021,” says Curry.
“Playing games provided a continued source of connection and entertainment for Australians throughout another year of the pandemic, with our Digital Australia 22 (DA22) report revealing that over 75% of us play games.”
“All of the data confirms that games are one of the world’s most powerful entertainment mediums, and this looks set to continue.” He added.
The numbers
Among the digital games sold included:
- $566 million was spent on complete games.
• $687 million on in-game transactions
• $162 million on subscriptions across platforms like Fortnite Crew, Game Pass, PS Plus, Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch Online, etc.
Traditional Retail
Spending on traditional physical video games at brick-and-mortar storefronts and online totaled $1.07 billion, which was slightly below digital sales. The rise of digital has been predicted for some time, but physical sales remain strong, mainly to the sale of consoles and peripherals.
Here’s the breakdown:
- $560 million on hardware, such as consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
- $378 million was spent on gaming software
- $131 million on official accessories such as controllers licensed by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. The report does not include console accessories made by other manufacturers.
As expected, higher-priced systems such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S drove hardware sales. As previously stated, the Nintendo Switch experienced strong unit sales for the year, with more consumers jumping aboard the Nintendo Switch train than any other system.
Spending on games increased by 11.5 percent year on year, offering users hours of enjoyment all through 2021. According to the Digital Australia 22 report, more than 75% of Australians play digital games of some kind.
Going forward…
As Australians continue to nurture their relationship with video games – a relationship that was established and maintained for many during the pandemic – it’s difficult to see this figure declining in the coming year, despite multiple major game delays resulting in big blockbusters being pushed to 2023.
According to the research, back-catalog games, as well as mobile and digital microtransactions, are where the majority of the money is going — and the alternatives there will only get better and more diverse over time. When supply chains for next-generation gaming consoles and PC hardware are currently at their most strained, it’s easy to envision a big boom once those challenges are finally (and hopefully) rectified. Overall, it was a banner year for the Australian gaming industry. Certainly evidence of the nation’s hunger for gaming in everyday life. Looking forward to seeing IGEA’s next report in 2023.
