"The key message from the games business in 2019 is we need those two new consoles from PlayStation and Xbox -- and soon." https://t.co/tkuWvkSwM9
— GamesIndustry (@GIBiz) January 3, 2020
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-01-03-uk-video-game-sales-drop-for-the-first-time-since-2012
" Physical sales plunge as digital growth slows "
" The physical sales of video games in the UK dropped by 19.8% last year.
17.6 million boxed games were sold by retailers, according to GfK. In total, these games generated £602.5 million in revenue, which is a drop of 21.7% year-on-year.
Digital sales fared better, but growth was just 1.1% to £3.17 billion (IHS estimates). The data has been compiled together by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA)
Combined together, UK video game sales generated £3.77 billion in 2019, which is a drop of 3.4% over 2018. It is the first time that the UK games software market has seen a drop in revenue since 2012.
It's not completely surprising considering 2019 was the final full year of the console cycle, where sales tend to slowdown (just as it did in 2012 in the year before the PS4 and Xbox One arrived). 2019 was also notable for a lack of many major game releases -- out of the ten best-selling boxed games in 2019, only six were actually released last year."
ERA CEO Kim Bayley said: "The key message from the games business in 2019 is we need those two new consoles from PlayStation and Xbox -- and soon."
