Global console market surpassed $50 Billion in 2020

Throughout 2020, many industries saw major losses due to COVID-19 and the ensuing pandemic which required shops and venues to close. The gaming industry however not only persevered but thrived during this period, growing to its biggest size ever, with the console market surpassing $50 Billion worldwide.

As reported by Gamesindustry.biz (and researched by Ampere Analysis), across 2020 the global console market grew by 19% year-on-year, from $45.2 Billion to $53.9 Billion. Within this, Sony remained the market leader with a 46% market share. Nintendo was second with 31% of the market, and Microsoft brought up the rear with 23%.

While these positions have not changed from 2019, the market share of each console manufacturer did shift slightly. In 2019, Sony has a 49% market share, meaning it fell by 3 points in 2020. Microsoft fell by 1 point, meaning that Nintnedo is the only one to have grown. Evenso, the positions of each console manufacturer is clear, and is unlikely to change any time soon.

While “Nintendo's digital games business grew substantially in 2020,” it was Sony who took the top spot for digital sales, with 50% of all sales accounted for going to Sony. That being said, Nintendo was the leader for physical game sales. In total however, 67% of all spending in 2020 went to digital content, a large increase of 8 points.

While some may suggest that this growth is due to COVID-19, which saw people required to stay indoors, with video games being a good escape, Ampere Analysis expects to see the market grow even further in 2021 to $58.6 Billion. It will be interesting to see if this does end up being the case.

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KitGuru says: How much gaming did you do in 2020? Do you think 2021 will be even bigger? How big do you think the industry will be in 5 years? Let us know down below.

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