Germany: Gaming PCs and peripherals in high demand

• Sales revenue from gaming hardware declines by 1.7 per cent
• Demand for gaming PCs and associated peripherals grows
• ‘Many gamers are already eagerly awaiting the next generation of gaming consoles’
• German games industry tops the 6-billion-euro mark

The market for gaming hardware in Germany declined somewhat in 2019: gaming consoles, gaming PCs and the associated peripherals generated approximately 2.4 billion euros in sales revenue – a drop of 1.7 per cent compared to the previous year. These are the figures released today by game – the German Games Industry Association, based on data collected by the market research company GfK. A decisive factor in this development was the decline in sales revenue from gaming consoles: it plunged from 613 to 498 million euros within one year. This downturn was expected, however, as two of the three major consoles currently on the market – the Microsoft Xbox One and the Sony PlayStation 4 – debuted back in 2013, and follow-up consoles for both systems are expected at the end of this year. By contrast, the Nintendo Switch launched much more recently, in 2017. Meanwhile, the market for console peripherals grew by approximately 4 per cent, to 255 million euros. Gaming-capable PCs and laptops also generated more sales revenue: this market grew by approximately 2 per cent, to 779 million euros. Sales revenue from gaming PC accessories – including VR headsets, monitors, special gaming graphics cards, keyboards, mice and other input devices – increased most significantly of all these areas. Germans spent 822 million euros on these items in 2019, or approximately 6.5 per cent more than the previous year.

‘Gamers are particularly interested in the latest technologies and devices, as we can see from gaming hardware sales, which – at more than 2 billion euros – constitute a major share of the overall games market. The current decline in sales revenue was to be expected, as many gamers are already eagerly awaiting the next generation of gaming consoles from Microsoft and Sony that are scheduled to arrive at the end of this year,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game.

German games market grows by 6 per cent

As already reported by game, the German games market grew by 6 per cent in 2019, to around 6.2 billion euros. Sales of games hardware, including consoles, gaming PCs and accessories, dropped by 2 per cent from the previous year, to 2.4 billion euros. In contrast, the market for games software showed a gain of 11 per cent: in 2019, a total of about 3.9 billion euros was spent on computer and video games and the charges for the respective online services.

About the market data

The current data takes into account further dedicated games hardware like gaming PCs and the associated peripherals, resulting in a larger market size than previously reported. This is true also of the adjusted data for 2018, which accordingly differs from that reported last year.

The market data is based on statistics compiled by the GfK Consumer Panel and App Annie. The methods used by GfK to collect data on Germany’s digital games market are unique in terms of both 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, as well as a retail panel. The data collection methods provide a unique insight into the German market for computer and video games.

Source: the German Games Industry Association