#Sales of video games hit UK record in 2020

The video games market in Britain saw record sales of £7 billion ($9.7 billion, 8.3 billion euros) in 2020, as months of lockdown prompted people to invest in new games and consoles.

Sales were up by 30 percent on 2019 and broke a 2018 record by more than £1 billion, said Ukie, a trade association representing the games industry.

The figures come as the United States and France have also reported record sales of games in 2020.

Software sales—mostly digital sales of games—gained 18 percent to £4.55 billion. The best-seller was Nintendo’s simulation game “Animal Crossing New Horizons”, released as the UK entered its first lockdown.

The steepest rise in sales was for games equipment such as consoles and VR headsets, which leapt by 60.8 percent to £2.26 billion.

Sales of consoles were strongest item, with Nintendo Switch the top-seller.

The end of the year also saw the release of new generation consoles: Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series.

Sales of related merchandise such as movies, streaming content, books and events saw more moderate growth of 32.6 percent, as many physical events and fairs had to be cancelled due to virus restrictions.

© 2021 AFP