The figures show that while in 2019, sales of gaming PCs, games consoles and accessories generated around 2.5 billion euro, this figure rose to over 3.2 billion euros in 2020 – an increase of 26 percent.
There was an exceptionally high demand for peripherals for gaming PCs, with sales of special gaming mice, keyboards, monitors, graphics cards and virtual reality headsets generating around 1.2 billion euros – approximately 46 percent more than in 2019.
Sales of consoles and console accessories also grew considerably last year. Stationary and handheld consoles generated around 650 million euro, which was 25 percent more than in 2019; console accessories such as gamepads and steering wheels generated 275 million euro – an increase of 24 percent. Sales of gaming PCs also increased to around 1.1 billion euro, about 10 percent higher than in 2019.
Games Industry Association Managing Director' Felix Falk said that millions of people took advantage of the lock-downs in 2020 to play games together.
"Many upgraded their gaming PCs, and lots of them bought their first console and became new gaming fans. Besides the strong demand for the Nintendo Switch, the launch of the next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles and a new generation of graphics cards also generated high sales. Games hardware has never been in such high demand in Germany as it was in 2020."
It was not just games hardware that saw a dramatic rise in sales in 2020 – so too did the entire market for a computer and video games, and across all segments.
The most substantial increase was posted in sales revenue for in-game and in-app purchases, which grew by 44 percent within a single year, achieving total sales revenue of over 3.2 billion euro.
Charges for online services also saw solid growth of 50 per cent to 692 million euro. This segment includes online services, subscriptions and cloud gaming services such as EA Play Pro, Nintendo Switch Online, PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass and Ubisoft+.
The sale of computer and video games generated more than 1.1 billion euro in revenue, an 11 percent increase over 2019. Subscriptions to individual games, such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV, resulted in a 44 per ent increase in sales revenue. This market segment thus grew to 163 million euro.