Video games sales hit record high in UK - more popular than music
By Dave Parrack
There was me thinking we were slap-bang in the middle of a recession, with consumer spending down, businesses going bust left, right, and center, and even banks struggling. But there’s a general feeling that video games are recession-proof, and the 2008 sales figures for the UK suggest that’s true.
With America being the biggest market, we here at Gamer.Blorge usually concentrate on sales figures from the U.S. But occasionally, we will take a look at what is happening elsewhere in the world, with Asia and Europe also being important markets and sales figures from those territories being good indicators of where the industry is, and where it’s heading.
The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), which tracks sales for music, games, and video, across the UK today revealed its final figures for 2008. They show that sales of video games hit an all-time high over the last twelve months, and games now generate a lot more money than music.
According to BBC News, total sales hit £4.034 billion ($6 billion) in 2008. This is a 23 percent increase on 2007. Consoles accounted for £1.4 billion ($2.2 billion), while games accounted for £1.9 billion ($3 billion).
No surprise that Nintendo lead the way, with the Wii selling almost a quarter of the total games with 20 million units. This is a huge increase of 153 percent over the previous, showing that existing Wii owners are still buying new games. Meanwhile, the DS managed 19.1 million units of software.
Sales of PS3 games rose 145 percent with 10.4 million units sold, which is a great result for the first full year the PS3 has been on sale in the UK. The Xbox 360 managed sales of 14.9 million, which again constitutes a rise year-on-year, although only a modest 51 percent for the Microsoft console.
The video games market had already overtaken the music market, but 2008 saw the gap between the two widening even more. The software sales of £1.9 billion ($3 billion) alone beat the £1.33 billion ($2 billion) spent on music. While the music industry is struggling in the face of piracy, video games seem to be on the up, continuing the trend of the last few years.
Whether 2009 will be quite so rosy for video games remains to be seen, although all the signs point towards the games industry as a whole being able to ride the recession better than most other industries. We may all be avoiding expensive holidays, new cars, or big loans, but we all clearly still need our fix of gaming.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
under
Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
Stumble It!
Tips N4G
January 7th, 2009
“While there is stuff in 2010 we can look forward to, off the top of my head, I cannot think of anything this year that really excites me.” say Peter Molyneux.
You wanna get yourself on the PS3 buddy. We’ve got a great year coming up!
January 7th, 2009
Well Molyneux is dreaming because there is plenty coming out in 2009.
January 7th, 2009
He just want people to play his Fabel 2 Game.
January 7th, 2009
Which is a great game by the way.
January 7th, 2009
I can’t help to wonder is maybe price also plays somewhat of a role in all of this. Games and consoles cost quite a bit more than Albums (CDs, download), DVDs, Blu-rays, and Movie tickets… Still it’s a pretty strong statement as video games as an entertainment medium.
January 7th, 2009
…”wonder is maybe… I meant “if”.
January 7th, 2009
I’ll be surprised if all of these ‘Great PS3 games for 2009′ make it out this year. I’m looking at GT5 and God Of War.
I downloaded that new Lord Of The Rings demo, I really liked it. It was a mix of LOTR and Star Wars Battlefront, with multiplayer thrown in.
January 7th, 2009
“Great PS3 games…”
That’s the spirit Harry!
January 7th, 2009
^ Haha.
Well I didn’t think GT5 was coming out until 2010 anyway. Can’t say I’m expecting it sooner. God of War III will be out though I reckon. Didn’t buy either of the first 2, so the experience will be a completely new one for me.
Harry a mix of LOTR and Stars Wars: Battlefront sounds quite appealing… I may check that one out (can’t say I have liked any LOTR games before now, but I’m willing to try).
January 7th, 2009
Can someone tell me (kev, CAD, harry or other) whether the Xbox 360 Arcade is enough if I only want it to make the most of a few exclusives?
January 7th, 2009
Royzy the 360 arcade is rather diverse. It’s got a mix of indy games, games such as castle crashers, and old school arcade games like the Ninja Turtles Arcade Game, Double Dragon, Gauntlet, Galaga, Yie Ar Kung Fu etc. I’ve had a lot of fun with it.
January 7th, 2009
god bless the brits… they have kept Fifa 09 multiplayer alive for me…
Conquest was not very good… I played the single player and multiplayer demo… it was unbalanced at times… and didnt have simple things like lock on… which really pissed me off…
harry… GT 5 is for 2010… dont hold your breath over it…
Royzy… castle crashers… Braid… the best games you can find anywhere… also dash of destruction… downloaded more than 1 million times and is basically free 200 points…
January 7th, 2009
I’m reposting this in case it gets over looked. Harry, Kev, Cad… and to a lesser extent Carl B…
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10132039-52.html
This gem has your hero Aaron Greenburg suggesting that the Xbox 360 now has an 8 million unit lead on the PS3 worldwide, with 28 million 360s and 20 million PS3s in the wild
360 - 3 years – 9.33 for each year
PS3 - 2 Years – 10 for each year
So the 360has with out a doubt sold more units… but xbots are spinning this like crazy. The PS3 is on track to beat the 360…
January 8th, 2009
hahaha don’t blame the game just because you’re crap at it!
January 8th, 2009
I thought i read somewhere that they were saying GT5 was due for christmas this ywar? But you’re probably right, 2011 sounds a bit better.
January 8th, 2009
its not that harry… the controls doesnt feel tight and responsive… no lock on means scouts are less effective with their 1 hit kills…
Im not gonna buy it… Im a fan of LOTR games… played battle for middle earth 1 and 2… and the return of the king game…
this one just isnt up to the same par as the older ones… it feels like DOTA… and I play DOTA all the time… also… shouldnt there be AI grunts in the multiplayer?? or is it all supposed to be player controlled characters??
but… I got to kill Gandalf with one hit kill with a scout… I was so proud that day…
January 8th, 2009
Royzy,
I would suggest scrimping another $30 for the 20GB (that now comes w/3mo Live Gold comp’d) HDD. It has worked fine for me for everything on the 360 over the past 3 years. I actually enjoyed Battle for Middle Earth on the 360 a lot. Don’t forget to try Dead Rising, and I even enjoyed Gun amongst older lesser known titles.
January 8th, 2009
Thanks guys. Not sure when I will purchase one yet, I have quite a lot of games/studying to finish as it is. CarlB, yeh I probably will scrimp, since the 60GB isn’t a great deal more expensive either on amazon.
George, I want Stars Wars: Battlefront III please. None of the other crap though, thanks George.
January 8th, 2009
Ok… this is my third time posting this. I provided a link but after over 12 hours my comments are still “awaiting moderation”. The numbers below were taken from the recent Cnet article.
This gem has your hero Aaron Greenburg suggesting that the Xbox 360 now has an 8 million unit lead on the PS3 worldwide, with 28 million 360s and 20 million PS3s in the wild
360 - 3 years – 9.33 for each year
PS3 - 2 Years – 10 for each year
So the 360 has with out a doubt sold more units… but xbots are spinning this like crazy. The PS3 is on track to beat the 360…
January 8th, 2009
Harry, CAD, Kev, and to a lesser extent Carl B… please spin these numbers and tell me how this means the end of Sony and the PS3. I would love to hear it.
(I said “to a lesser extent Carl B” because he seems like he is not as fanatical as the others).
January 8th, 2009
Barnabe Jones,
Thanks. I would prefer no extent, but oh well. Be careful here, because there are several people here who think sales should not be commented on here. If the pace you mentioned remained perfectly stable for the required amount of time (which it will not), the PS3 would surpass the 360 in sales by 2021.
January 8th, 2009
I think Mike or Dave mentioned something about it dying a premature death in a couple of years if sales remain the same for the PS3, but I believe the PS3 will be with us for the predicted 10 year life cycle (though maybe not the 14 years mentioned above). Sony and PS3 will survive, and 20 million so far is nothing to sneeze at, even if it is 8 million behind 360.
January 8th, 2009
like Sea Lab…….
January 8th, 2009
Those numbers are important to show that the PS3 is not the colossal failure than media/xbots portray it as.
The price cut will help MS, while it will help Sony when they get around to it. FF13 will push many over the edge in Japan.
January 8th, 2009
barn -
1. this is ONLY one small island country they’re using while the ps3 continues to suffer low sales in the largest markets, altho japan’s market actuall shrunk buy 15%.
2. sony is doing the spinning by comparing their sales to themselves. if they were doing better, they would compare sales to the competitors, but they don’t. so instead they compare to themselves in an effort to impress people with the triple digit sales increase on a YTY basis. sony - spinmeisters.
3. they STILL (after years on the markets) cannot make a dent in their ps2 userbase which was supposed to propel them into stardom.
4. word from CES is that physical formats are on the way out…thus negating the “future proof”-ness of bluray. their hopes of money making from this is dying on the launch pad.
hope this helps.
January 8th, 2009
Why have a fair proportion of the products at CES been Blu-Ray players kev?
January 8th, 2009
Quite right phranctoast, the PS3 is not a colossal failure, it is just not quite reaching the sales predictions Sony had made. Again, no problem as they should be able to last until their next gen offering, and they are planning on having a 10 year cycle with PS3. Sorry Barnabe, I meant to to add “total” above, as in:
If the pace you mentioned remained perfectly stable for the required amount of time (which it will not), the PS3 would surpass the 360 in total sales by 2021.
January 8th, 2009
The numbers are straight from Aaron Greenburg and they are combined lifetime worldwide totals. The US is the largest market, but 360 fans forget that the world is a very large place. Dominating the US market is great for the 360, but it by no means proves the death of the PS3. The PS3 is actually beating the 360 in terms of pacing. After 2009s great line and price drop, the PS3 will gain an even larger lead. By this time next year, the PS3 will have sold more than 28 Million units.
January 8th, 2009
lockdown - and there was a time when CD players were big at CES i’m sure.
barn- you forget the gaming industry has always been steered by the largest market. who takes #1 in NA takes the world.
why do you assume, 1. there will be a price drop on the ps3 when sony says “no”, and 2. the ps3 is the only console capable of price drops. the 360 did it once already and enjoyed huge sales gains. they can do it again, maintain the increased distance in front of the ps3.
Carlb - there are many at sony who do consider the ps3 a “colossal failure”. so much so, it cost Ken Kuturagi his career. Stringer’s not done with the games division yet. changes forthcoming.
January 8th, 2009
I just got the Sea Lab comment
Carl – How did you get 2021? In a year from now, the PS3 will sell more than 28 Million units – effectively beating the 360 (for the 3 year mark). Forgetting the year head start the 360 had is playing with a stacked deck.
January 8th, 2009
I think there’s a delay in the site… I just many have double posted. Sorry.
January 8th, 2009
“Your comment is awaiting moderation.” I think it’s the smiley faces this time…
I just got the Sea Lab comment..
Carl – How did you get 2021? In a year from now, the PS3 will sell more than 28 Million units – effectively beating the 360 (for the 3 year mark). Forgetting the year head start the 360 had is playing with a stacked deck
January 8th, 2009
I think hes saying the 360 wont stop selling. If the ps3 creeps up on the 360 by outselling it year to year by 700,000 it still will take a decent amount of time to make up the difference of 8 million.
January 8th, 2009
Barnabe Jones,
phranctoast is right, paralleling both (28m to 20m) side by side (in that weird ideal world where the sales rates stay the exact same), PS3 wouldn’t overtake 360’s overall sales until 2021 (at the rates you mentioned). Of course, this gen will be over by then, and both said they would plan for a ten year cycle (mmhmm…) so by 2016 360 would have 93.3 million, and PS3 would have 90 million. Then 360 leaves the scene at ten years and PS3 stays on for another year (ten years for it)… selling another 10 million… and it finally outsells the 360 by 6.79 million because it came out later… ugh… you get the point. Anyway, both will continue to do fine until the next gen comes out around 2011 or so (360 - 46.66m, PS3 - 40m).
January 8th, 2009
Carl – I see what you’re saying. The PS3 is better future proofed than the 360, so I suppose only time will tell. With all of the doom and gloom from the media and the xbots, when you actually break out the numbers and compare were the consoles are in there respective life spans – you see a very different picture.
I was actually one of the people who stated I was getting tired of fighting over sales… then Harry made a smart comment, I was dying to get his take on this. I’m certain he would point to the 8 million units and claim a 360 victory over the PS3.
January 8th, 2009
Also given the fact that the PS2 still sells well, while M$ abandoned the original Xbox along time ago, further supports my theory.
January 8th, 2009
I think the gap will widen slightly with the 360’s price cut, but if a ps3 price cut occurs this year will see the gap decrease.
If advertised correctly (rolls eyes) Killzone 2 could see awesome sales. The game just looks godamned beautiful. They better not have a cgi commercial for that game!!!!!! They need to stress the *actual screens* aspect. They sunk enough money into the game, so why not.
I could see KZ2 selling a decent amount of PS3’s.
FF13 will be more than likely responsible for 2 million PS3 sales.
8 million is still a lot of ground to cover.
January 8th, 2009
You can guarantee that Halo Wars will sell more copies than KZ2; and MS will be quick to rub it in when it does.
It’s Gran Turismo 5 that will be the big system seller. Though no-one seems to believe me.
January 8th, 2009
If people are that easily fooled by name recognition.
RTS’s typically suck on consoles. End War at least has voice control. Battle for Middle Earth 2 made a good effort.
MS should be releasing this on the pc as well.
January 8th, 2009
I think people will be fooled that easily by name recognition. Look what it did for Halo 3. Halo wars will not be that much
of a success, but it will end up doing pretty well.
If Sony puts a push behind Kill Zone 2, it could help to shift a few units. The other consoles have no exclusives lined up for that timeframe, so if Sony plays its cards right it can help to sell systems.
January 8th, 2009
“Royzy,
I would suggest scrimping another $30 for the 20GB”
+1
January 8th, 2009
“Barnabe Jones:
The PS3 is better future proofed”
Mate, please, seriously, wake up.
There’s no such thing, never was never will be.
It’s purely condescending PR BS.
January 9th, 2009
I heard a rumour that MS is goading Sony into dropping the price of the PS3 because MS have already lowered the production cost of the 360 even further and are planning on dropping the price of the 360 even further on or around the day that the PS3 does.
Clever marketing, it’s going to take whatever thunder Sony creates when they finally announce their price drop.
January 9th, 2009
phranctoast,
“FF13 will be more than likely responsible for 2 million PS3 sales.” Software or console?
if FF13 is responsible for 2 million PS3 sales, how many more 360 sales would it be responsible for?
Elder Scrolls IV:
360: 2.63m
PS3: .77m
Fallout 3:
360: 1.81m
PS3: 1.05m
Granted, this is software sales, but based on an avg of these numbers (present gen RPG’s on both consoles) and assuming your PS3 numbers, it would seem almost a million more on 360 (and I am accounting for the year gap on ESIV). Of course, what this isn’t accounting for is the people who have been accustomed to 7-12 and FF compilations on PS2 and have yet to get their next console, so it could even out or be greater.
January 9th, 2009
meant to say in japan.
January 9th, 2009
You better believe FFXIII will move units Japan. 2 million units isn’t a bad guess.
FFXIII Vs is a worldwide exclusive. My guess is that it should help move units across the globe. That game looks like it has a much darker, grittier feel.
January 9th, 2009
Happy – The extra space that blu-ray provides, makes it a more valuable media to be used down the road in a few more years. My bet is that the Xbox 720 (or Phoenix) will use blu-ray. There’s no way they can try to coast by with DVD again next generation. Hence, the PS3 being in a better position in the future.
January 9th, 2009
If by the next hardware release (720…or whatever) MS goes completely digital, that will be their undoing…….
January 9th, 2009
Uh oh, you’ve said MS will have to use Blu-Ray…I’d get the flamesuit on if I were you…
January 9th, 2009
*puts on flamesuit*
A console based solely on digital distortion might happen one day, but it won’t be next generation. The video game industry is a huge worldwide market. Sony, M$, and Nintendo won’t risk alienating entire markets and demographics. There is still a very large segment of the world that does not have access to high speed internet.
January 9th, 2009
If it does go digital, they effectively would have killed the rental and resale business (which you are entitled to).
Maybe theres a way with flash drives…… Game kiosks where people could plug their drive into it and DL for a price than DL to their system.
The days of borrowing your friends games or selling your stuff are over my friends!!!!
January 9th, 2009
phranctoast,
Maybe not. Maybe the one positive the Wii will bring out of this generation is these two companies will need to recognize what will sell to the casual gamer. That is not digital downloads, and probably not flash drives. Casual gamers want to rent the games before they buy and they want to trade between friends.
January 9th, 2009
I highly doubt it wylie… if casual gamers were savvy enough to rent games… they would be savvy enough to check out the reviews… which means 300 000 people wouldnt have bought FUCKING WII MUSIC!!!
FUCK YOU NINTY!! FUCK YOU RIGHT UP YOUR MONEY PIT STRAIGHT UP YOUR ASS!!!
can you believe LBP sold less on a month that Wii Music… fucking retarded…
January 9th, 2009
Barnabe Jones,
“My bet is that the Xbox 720 (or Phoenix) will use blu-ray.”
My guess is that 360’s successor will use flying lens or alternate tech that surpasses Blu-Ray significantly, instead of MS paying it’s immediate competition for their tech.
maximumpc.com/article/news/new_flying_lens_could_revolutionize_optical_drives_render_bluray_obsolete
January 9th, 2009
blu ray’s owned by more than just Sony. MS makes money on blu rays sold with VC1 compression. I have no doubt that if an optical drive is still being used that it’ll be blu ray. Remember. You need to convince movie studios on a new format as well. Then you have to convince the public. If blu ray lasts another 3 years people will be pissed and not buy into another optical format.
I believe digital distribution is the future…Just not as quickly as people want to believe it will be. It will be the future for rentals first. Movie files are not music files.
January 9th, 2009
Hence alternate tech. IF a drive is included, preferably it is one that isn’t as initially expensive as Blu-Ray and could also play DVD, Blu-Ray, and the new format♠
January 9th, 2009
Now you’re just talking crazy….
January 9th, 2009
It better cook burgers Foreman Style!!!!!
January 9th, 2009
Carl - Interesting read. Seems like a fairly simple concept.
And that was a good idea not using the “www.”
January 9th, 2009
MS keep saying digital distribution is the future, so MS should put their money where their mouth is and go DD only for the next Xbox.
January 9th, 2009
carlb - i’m afraid you could be right about the next xbox.
my only problem with their using the latest tech is that it will continue the legacy of $400 launch prices. bleh…. we need them back at $300. don’t even get me started in the $10 upcharge in games from last gen…
January 9th, 2009
I agree with Kev…
*gets consumed by wall of fire and hit by asteroid as the earth opens up underneath his desk chair*
-Arvis
January 9th, 2009
kev,
I even it out by looking at it in a different way. By now my initial investment is under 35 cents a day. And I almost always rent games instead of buying. GameFly rules.
January 10th, 2009
@Arvis
ROFL!
I like CarlB’s Suzanne Summers approach.
January 10th, 2009
I mean Sally Struthers….
January 10th, 2009
It would have been over twice as much by now for the PS3 @ 82 cents a day, but still less than a cup of coffee (depending on whether you buy yours from starbucks or make it yourself).
January 10th, 2009
“you too could feed a starving Sony child third party exclusives, for only pennies a day” (as Sally Struthers is happily eating terrified developers)