In one region, sales of game console hardware fell significantly

Summary

  • Major game console sales in Europe fell in 2024 due to market saturation and lack of new releases.

  • The PlayStation 5 Pro was the only new console from a major company, but failed to prevent an overall drop in sales.

  • Overall game sales in Europe are set to increase by just 1% in 2024, with digital sales rising and physical copies falling.

2024 was not a great year for video game consoles in parts of Europe, including all the popular games like Switch, Xbox and PlayStation. 2024 appears to have seen a downward trend in new console sales in the region, but it wasn't all bad news for the gaming industry.

In 2024, the only new console produced by the big three gaming companies was the PlayStation 5 Pro, which is an updated version of an existing console. While many fans were eager to purchase a Sony-branded console with more power, it didn't seem to be enough to keep European numbers up for the year compared to previous years.

Relatives

In 2024, Steam users spent surprisingly little time playing new games

Steam has released new statistics showing that players spent surprisingly little time on new games, focusing instead on older titles.

According to a report published by Video Games Chronicle, the data shows that the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch did not have a great year in Europe, with total sales of game consoles down a whopping 21% compared to the previous year. PlayStation had a better performance for the year, perhaps due to the launch of the PS5 Pro, but its sales were still down 20% compared to 2023. The Nintendo Switch is down 15% compared to 2023, while the Xbox Series X/S saw a staggering 48% drop. There is speculation that this is largely due to the fact that the current console market is becoming somewhat stagnant, with the original PS5 and Xbox Series consoles launching in 2020 and the Nintendo Switch back in 2017. On Amazon's US site, the Meta Quest 3S outsold all major game consoles in 2024, likely indicating that console sales in many territories.

Video game sales shift and growth stagnates

Overall, Europe hasn't seen much growth in games over the year, with 188.1 million PC and console games sold in 2024, up just 1% from the previous year. While any boost is nice, it's likely less than most game publishers would like. The numbers also point to changes in how players get their games, with digital game sales rising to 131.6 million, up 15% from 2023, while only 56.5 million physical copies of games were sold, down by 22% compared to the previous year.

Overall, 2025 is expected to be a stronger year for gaming in Europe and globally. The Nintendo Switch 2 will be released sometime this year, which will likely lead to massive sales. However, it should be noted that the console sales figures do not include the UK, Germany, the Netherlands or Austria and others. It's possible that if these places were taken into account, the numbers in 2024 wouldn't seem so bad.

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