During the coronavirus pandemic, almost all categories of video game products in Russia showed sales growth. GfK provided market research data during the “Game Market During the COVID Crisis” webinar.
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Analysts speculated that in 2023, sales of game consoles would decline due to the announcement of next-generation devices. In the first eleven weeks, the figures were indeed lower than those in the previous reporting period: consumers preferred to wait for the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X or information about backward compatibility.
Game Console Sales Statistics | Source: GfK presentation “The gaming market during the COVID crisis”
Despite the forecasts, starting from the 12th week, sales of consoles began to grow. They reached a peak during the regime of self-isolation – their indicators exceeded the corresponding figures for 2019 by 147% at the 16th week. GfK representatives associated this with quarantine measures introduced in the country, due to which people had more free time. The prices of the main types of consoles have not undergone major changes.
According to analysts, the number of sales of physical copies of console video games peaked in 2013-2014, after which it began to decline. This may be due to a generational change – during the indicated period, the PlayStation 3 and 4, Xbox 360 and One were relevant.
Statistics of sales of physical copies of video games by year | Source: GfK presentation “The gaming market during the COVID crisis”
Among the physical copies of video games for consoles, the largest part of the market is occupied by PlayStation titles. In second place is the Xbox, but their percentage drops every year. The share of Nintendo after the release of Switch, on the contrary, is growing.
In 2023, sales of physical copies of video games were mostly lower than in 2019. Analysts explained this by the increasing share of online purchases, high-profile releases last year and the closure of stores after tightening quarantine measures in the country.
During the period of self-isolation, the most popular offline games were FIFA 20, UFC 3, Resident Evil 3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. According to the representative of GfK, the presence in the list of large RPGs along with session titles is caused by an increase in free time among Russians.
Statistics of the influence of the prefix “gaming” | Source: GfK presentation “The gaming market during the COVID crisis”
Analysts reported that the peak in sales of equipment and peripherals came in the period in March between the depreciation of the ruble and the beginning of the self-isolation regime. Moreover, all products with the prefix “gaming” showed several times greater growth than similar products without the prefix. Only personal computers were an exception: GfK representatives explained this by the prevalence of their own assemblies. On average, products designated as “gaming” are 1.5-2 times more expensive.
Video games are most popular among people aged 25 to 34 years – they make up 27% of the total audience. There is an increase in the proportion of older players. Read more about older gamers in our material.
