The video game has become one of the main entertainment claims during the period of alarm in Spain.
The video game sector is experiencing a rebound in sale and use during the period of confinement decreed in many countries in Europe, including Spain, according to the severity of the coronavirus (COVID-19). After learning that network data consumption in our country has grown significantly, we now know that the sale of digital games increased by 142.8% during the week in which confinement in Spanish territory was announced, followed by an incipient demand for consoles.
Europe: 63% growth in sales of games in physical format
According to the latest report published by the Games Sales Data (GSD) consulting group, which includes sales and trend data in physical and digital format in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, the results are very illuminating. In the week from March 16 to 22, which is the computed period, 4.3 million video games were shipped among the 50 markets studied; that is to say, 63% more than in the previous week.
Regardless of the physical format – which will experience a lack of supply from April due to the stoppage in international airlines (they have already warned of a lack of stock in games such as Final Fantasy VII Remake and Resident Evil 3 Remake) -, the great beneficiaries of the circumstance is the digital sales portals, which guarantee immediacy when it comes to acquiring the purchased goods. In total, 3.74 million video games were downloaded in digital format during the week of March 16 to 22, a growth of 52.9% compared to the previous week; a percentage that would be much higher if Bethesda and Nintendo offered the digital sales of their titles, since the hundreds of thousands of copies sold of DOOM Eternal and Animal Crossng: New Horizons, which went on sale that Friday, are not included. .
Spain: sales in physical format drop; they grow in digital format
Spain does not present changes with respect to the European trend. The state of alarm, decreed on March 14, caused a massive increase in people confined to their homes and, consequently, changing the way they proceed when buying and consuming entertainment.
Sales from March 9 to 15 rose 142.8% over the previous week; in the next one, from March 23 to 29, they increased another 23.3% compared to that large figure. The sale of games in traditional physical format fell 5.1% in that week; however, the drop is 50% if Animal Crossing: New Horizons is not counted, which was the option chosen by the majority at that time.
Consoles: increase in the sale of PS4, Xbox One and PC
We end up with hardware. The document presented by GSD also indicates that sales of consoles in Spain (PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch as a whole) grew by 27.7% in the period from March 9 to 15; in the next, an even higher growth of 66.1%. In Europe, if the 50 markets are counted, in the week of March 16 to 22, 115% more consoles were sold. If there is no lack of stock, it is expected that these figures continue to evolve in positive percentages.
Track | GamesIndustry
