Keen interest in gaming game consoles expected at the end of the year

• 800,000 people in Germany plan to buy a new game console; over 3 million more can imagine themselves purchasing one
• Experts expect growth in the console market as a result of the large number of games being released in the fourth quarter of the year
• ‘These days, game consoles are digital campfires that the whole family gathers around’

Berlin, 13 October 2015 – The latest game consoles, PlayStation 4, Wii U and Xbox One, are extremely popular in Germany. 800,000 Germans are planning to buy a new game console by the end of this year, and 3 million more of the country’s residents say they could imagine doing the same, as the BIU, the German Games Industry Association, reported today based on data from market research institute GfK. In total, approximately 10 per cent more Germans are planning to buy a new game console this year than in 2014. Interest is particularly strong amongst 40- to 49-year-olds. 29 per cent of them plan to make a purchase – the largest group amongst those surveyed. Of the 30- to 39-year-olds surveyed, 23 per cent plan to buy a console, marking a 29 per cent increase compared to last year – from 700,000 to 900,000 people. The survey results underscore the fact that the latest generation of consoles has been enormously successful in Germany.
 
‘By 2014, the latest game consoles had already proven themselves to be a major driver of growth in the German games market,’ explains BIU Managing Director Dr Maximilian Schenk. [quotation cite=”Dr. Maximilian Schenk, Managing D irector of the BIU”] “These days, gaming consoles are digital campfires that the whole family gathers around.[/quotation]‘These days, they are digital campfires that the whole family gathers around: to play the latest hit games, watch Blu-rays or use streaming video services. In that sense, it’s no wonder that so many people are interested in buying one of the latest game consoles.’

2015 promises growth in market for game consoles

Last year, sales revenue from gaming consoles increased by 31 per cent to 774 million euros. More than one third of all households in Germany already had a stationary or mobile game console during this period. As the market for game consoles developed steadily in the first half of 2015, generating sales revenue of 249 million euros, experts project that the overall market will grow this year as a result of the coming Christmas sales. One indicator is the enormous concentration of new blockbuster games that will be released by the end of this year and are only playable on the latest generation of consoles. Examples include ‘Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’ (Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft), ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops III’ (Treyarch/Activision), ‘Fallout 4’ (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks), ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ (343 Industries/Microsoft) and ‘Star Wars Battlefront’ (DICE/Electronic Arts). These and other new game releases will additionally drive sales of gaming hardware. Demand for new games for the latest consoles was already a major factor behind the growth in game software sales revenue in the first half of 2015. Dr Maximilian Schenk comments: ‘Many new games are only being developed for the latest generation of consoles, and are no longer backwards-compatible with the previous console models the way they still were last year. These days, game developers are more familiar with the latest platforms and can make full use of their extensive computing power to display elaborate, complex game worlds. This, in turn, encourages players to transition from the old generation of consoles to the new one.’

Note on market data:

The methods used by GfK to collect data on Germany’s digital games market are unique in terms both of their quality and their global use. They include an ongoing survey of 25,000 consumers who are representative of the German population as a whole regarding their digital game purchasing and usage habits, and also a consumer panel. The data collection methods provide a unique insight into the German market for computer and video games.

About the BIU

BIU – Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware (German Games Industry Association) is the association of the German computer and video games industry. Its 26 members are developers, publishers and providers of digital games, and they represent over 85 per cent of the German market. The BIU is, for example, the sponsor of gamescom. As an expert partner for media and for political and social institutions, the BIU answers all questions on the topic of digital games.

Press contact

Martin Puppe
BIU – Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware e. V.
Charlottenstrasse 62
10117 Berlin
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)30 2408779 20
Fax: +49 (0)30 2408779 11
Email: puppe@biu-online.de
Twitter: @game_eV
Facebook.com/BIUeV

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