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- Aug 20, 2006
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The latest figures from NPD and the ESA reveal that digital game sales are crushing boxed game sales in the US. Included are full-game digital downloads, subscriptions to services (e.g., Xbox Live and PSN), DLC, and mobile app downloads. I don’t think digital-only consoles are coming any time soon, but these statistics certainly make a case for them. Now, if only publishers weren’t so anal about the prices of downloadable games…
While physical format sales are steadily declining, the total picture for the US games industry is actually quite positive, with overall sales climbing each year since 2010, when the industry totaled $17.5 billion. In 2016, the total spend on games content was $24.5 billion and if you factor in hardware, accessories and VR, that figure rises to $30.4 billion. Digital has been accounting for a bigger and bigger portion of the sales total each year, and in 2016 that portion was 74%, including full game digital downloads, subscriptions, DLC, mobile and social.
While physical format sales are steadily declining, the total picture for the US games industry is actually quite positive, with overall sales climbing each year since 2010, when the industry totaled $17.5 billion. In 2016, the total spend on games content was $24.5 billion and if you factor in hardware, accessories and VR, that figure rises to $30.4 billion. Digital has been accounting for a bigger and bigger portion of the sales total each year, and in 2016 that portion was 74%, including full game digital downloads, subscriptions, DLC, mobile and social.