BKK2 on 21 January 2009
FAMILY-friendly titles helped fuel a record $2 billion video game sales bonanza last year.
The economic slowdown has done nothing to dent Australians' passion for games.
Sales surged to $1.96 million in 2008 - a 47 per cent increase on the previous year.
Official sales statistics compiled by market research company GfK reveal non-violent family games were the key to the sales boost.
The family category grew by a whopping 137 per cent, making it the No 1 genre, ahead of action games.
CEO of the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, Ron Curry, said games industry sales had grown by 112 per cent since 2006, proving video games are now very much part of Australian families' home-entertainment experience.
"The industry has really witnessed phenomenal growth, which has largely been driven by people playing games together," Mr Curry said.
The number of G-classified games released last year grew by 58 per cent.
The success of the innovative Nintendo Wii console, which boasts wireless controllers and has a heavy emphasis on socially inclusive games, has struck a particular chord with consumers.
Wii sales topped 680,000 in 2008, putting it ahead of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's next-generation PS3 machines.
More than 1 million Wii consoles have now been sold in Australia, compared with about 500,000 Xbox 360s and about 400,000 PS3s.
Consumers also snapped up more than 800,000 of Nintendo's pint-sized DS hand-helds last year, making it the biggest-selling games console for the third year in a row.
Sales of games software in general grew by 57 per cent last year, and 43 per cent more consoles went out the door.
The biggest percentage jump of all was recorded by gaming hardware accessories such as driving wheels, which leaped 68 per cent.
Xbox 360 sales topped 200,000 in 2008, a 48 per cent increase on the previous year.
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