Summary

• Major gaming console sales in Europe dropped in 2024 due to market saturation and lack of new releases.
• The PlayStation 5 Pro was the only new console from big companies, but couldn't prevent overall sales decline.
• Overall gaming sales in Europe only saw a 1% increase in 2024, with digital sales rising and physical copies falling.

In 2024, the European gaming market faced challenges as sales of major video game consoles like the Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation experienced a significant downturn. The year was marked by a general decline in new console sales across the region, though the gaming industry as a whole saw some positive developments.

The only new console launch from the major players in 2024 was the PlayStation 5 Pro, a more powerful version of the existing PS5. While this release generated excitement among Sony fans eager for enhanced performance, it did not manage to reverse the overall downward trend in console sales in Europe when compared to previous years.

According to a report by Video Games Chronicle, sales data revealed a 21% drop in console sales across Europe in 2024 compared to 2023. PlayStation, buoyed by the PS5 Pro, fared the best among the big three, yet still saw a 20% decline in sales. Nintendo Switch sales fell by 15%, and Xbox Series X/S sales plummeted by a staggering 48%. Analysts attribute these declines to market saturation, with the original PS5 and Xbox Series consoles having been released in 2020, and the Nintendo Switch in 2017. Notably, on Amazon's US site, the Meta Quest 3S outsold all major game consoles in 2024, suggesting a broader trend of stagnating console sales.

Video Game Sales Shift and Growth Stagnates

Despite the challenges in the console market, overall gaming sales in Europe showed a modest increase. In 2024, 188.1 million PC and console games were sold, marking a 1% rise from the previous year. While this increase is positive, it falls short of the growth many game publishers hoped for. The data also highlighted a significant shift in how gamers are acquiring their games: digital sales surged to 131.6 million units, a 15% increase from 2023, whereas physical game sales dropped to 56.5 million units, a decline of 22% compared to the prior year.

Looking ahead, 2025 is anticipated to be a more robust year for gaming in Europe and globally. The upcoming release of the Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to boost console sales significantly. It's important to note, however, that the 2024 sales figures do not include data from key markets such as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria, which could potentially alter the overall perception of the year's performance if included.

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