Australia’s video and computer games industry performed strongly in 2014, with sales of $2.46 billion for the year an increase of 20 per cent on 2013, according to new research released today by the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA).Traditional retail sales of $1.214 billion were up 7 per cent on 2013, according to the research, with digital sales of $1.248 billion up 39 per cent.
NPD Group Australia market data revealed the primary area for growth in retail sales was in console hardware, growing 47 per cent on the back of strong PS4, Xbox One and Wii U sales.
“Hardware sales pushed the industry forward in 2014,” commented IGEA CEO Ron Curry. “Bricks and mortar retailers have seen a boost in demand for the current generation consoles, which in turn has lead to an increase in demand for new console software and accessories and items such as game cards.
“The tremendous growth in digital sales shows that publishers and developers are effectively catering to the purchasing habits of an increasingly connected customer base.”
Additional research commissioned by IGEA from analyst firm Telsyte shows the Australian mobile (smartphone and tablet) gaming market exceeded $700 million in 2014, growing 56 per cent year-on-year, with the majority of mobile games revenue generated through in-app purchases.
Foad Fadaghi, Telsyte managing director, noted that, growing at almost 40 per cent in 2014, the digital, subscription and mobile games market continues to be a “solid growth engine for the industry”.
“In 2014, a number of factors improved the mobile gaming experience, including larger-screen smartphones, faster graphics processing and wider availability of premium games and titles,” Fadaghi commented.
“Clearly tablet and smartphone gaming has gone beyond being just a casual gaming platform.”
