The video and interactive games industry in New Zealand is booming as it edged towards half a billion dollars in revenue in 2017, a 7% increase on the previous year.
The latest report from the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) reveals that consumer spending on games and hardware reached $452.3 million in 2017 in New Zealand – while home console hardware and accessories sales both experienced growth, up 10% and 6% respectively.
And New Zealand total physical retail sales came in at $118.3 million and overall digital sales at $334 million last year.
According to data from The NPD Group, overall physical retail sales experienced a slight 4% decline, however this was offset by an increase in sales volume, which was up 4% in 2017.
{loadposition peter}The statistics show that home console hardware and accessories sales also increased last year.
Kiwis embraced both new and retro consoles. PlayStation4 continued to dominate the hardware sector with Xbox One bolstering category growth with the introduction of Xbox One X. The Nintendo Switch also entered the market, performing well alongside the Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES and Nintendo Classic Mini: NES.
The IGEA says research from Telsyte shows total digital sales were strong, up 12% in 2017.
Digital downloads, including full game downloads and digital extras, increased by 20% last year, subscription revenue also continued to grow, up 22% year-on-year, while mobile game sales retained the majority share of New Zealand’s digital games market at $175 million.
“The New Zealand video and computer games industry is in great shape, evidenced by the latest sales figures that show consumer spending is headed towards half a billion dollars,” said Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA.
“New Zealanders are more than happy to access their games content in a variety of ways, both physically and digitally. Sales for the current generation of consoles – PS4™, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch – remain strong. At the same time, we’re seeing impressive growth in subscription revenue, mobile game sales, and downloads of digital games and extras.”
Foad Fadaghi, Telsyte Managing Director, said: “With greater than 70 per cent of households having access to the ultra-fast broadband (UFB), New Zealand’s gamers continue to increase their spending on digital games and extras at a rapid rate.”