Video Game Console Hardware Sales Are Way Down in One Region

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.

2024 wasn't a great year for video game consoles in portions of Europe, including all the major hitters like the Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation. 2024 seems to have experienced a downward trend for selling new consoles overall in the region, but it wasn't all bad news for the game industry.

In 2024, the only new console to be produced by the big three game companies was the PlayStation 5 Pro, which is a revamped version of an existing console. While many fans were eager to get a Sony-branded console with more power, it doesn't seem to have been enough to maintain numbers in Europe for the year when compared to prior years.

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By Sarah Fields

In a report released by Video Games Chronicle, data indicates that the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch didn't have a great year in Europe, with overall sales of gaming consoles dropping a whopping 21% from the year prior. PlayStation, perhaps due to the PS5 Pro's launch, had the best numbers for the year, but its sales still fell 20% compared to 2023. The Nintendo Switch experienced a 15% drop from 2023, while the Xbox Series X/S saw a stunning 48% drop. It's speculated that this is largely due to the current console market becoming somewhat stagnant, with the original PS5 and Xbox Series consoles having launched in 2020, and the Nintendo Switch way back in 2017. On Amazon's US-based site, the Meta Quest 3S outsold all major game consoles in 2024, likely indicating that console sales are growing stagnant in many territories.

Video Game Sales Shift and Growth Stagnates

Overall, gaming didn't see much of an increase in Europe for the year, with 188.1 million PC and console games sold in 2024, which is only a rise of 1% over the year prior. While any increase is a good thing, it's likely less than most game publishers would have liked. The numbers also indicate a shift in how players are getting their games, with digital game sales rising to 131.6 million, a 15% increase over 2023, while only 56.5 million physical game copies were sold, dropping 22% compared to the prior year.

In all, 2025 is expected to be a stronger year for gaming in Europe and the world. The Nintendo Switch 2 is releasing sometime this year, which will likely generate a ton of sales. However, it's worth noting that the console sales figures don't include the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, or Austria, among others. It's possible that if those locations were factored in that the numbers wouldn't seem quite as bad for 2024.

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PlayStation 5 Pro

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Brand: Sony PlayStation
Storage: 2TB SSD
VR Support: PlayStation VR2
Resolution: Up to 8K
App Store: PlayStation Store
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 7

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With the PlayStation®5 Pro console, the world’s greatest game creators can enhance their games with incredible features like advanced ray tracing, super sharp image clarity for your 4K TV, and high frame rate gameplay. That means you get to play PS5® games with the most impressive visuals ever possible on a PlayStation® console.

PS5® Pro is an all-digital console with no disc drive. Sign into your account for PlayStation™Network and go to PlayStation™Store to buy and download games. You can also add a Disc Drive to your PS5® Pro console if you would like to play PS5 or PS4 games on Blu-ray™ Disc, or if you want to watch movies and shows on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™ Discs, Blu-ray™ Discs, and DVDs.

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info