Game industry breaks records
By Jason Hill | theage.com.au | 31 January
Australians spent $1.3 billion on video game software and game consoles last year - an increase of 43% from 2006, setting a record for the industry.
The Nintendo DS was the highest selling console followed by the seven-year-old PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's radical Wii.
It is no coincidence that these are the three platforms that have most excited newcomers and widened the audience for gaming consoles with titles such as Nintendogs and Brain Training on DS, PS2's Buzz and SingStar and Wii Sports.
Nintendo has sold 1 million DS hand-held and 300,000 Wii consoles in Australia, while there are more than 2.2 million PS2s in Australian homes.
The figures from independent market research group GfK also show that Australians bought 15.4 million games last year, including 6 million in the three months leading up to Christmas.
While outsold by Wii, Microsoft and Sony were happy with the performance of the more expensive Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.
Sales of the PS3 were higher than Xbox 360 for 2007, bringing the new machine's install base in Australia to 155,000. Another 20,000 PS3 consoles have been given away with Sony Bravia televisions.
Microsoft says Australians spent more money on Xbox 360 products (consoles, software and accessories) than on any other next-generation platform in 2007, and third-party publishers sold more 360 software than on Wii and PS3 combined. There are more than 300,000 Xbox 360s in Australian homes. Xbox 360 also hosted the best selling console game of 2007 - Halo 3 - which sold more than 120,000 copies.
The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia says it is thrilled with last year's growth in the industry - 43% compared very favourably to the 7% growth recorded in 2006. IEAA chief executive Ron Curry says the video games industry is no longer a niche market. "With a wide variety of games available, interactive entertainment is attracting people from all ages and all walks of life," Mr Curry says.
"As more Australians embrace the most advanced gaming innovations and purchase the latest games, the average age of gamers has risen to 28 years old," he says.
First published by TheAge.com.au on January 31 2008
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