Video games have never been bigger, with the Entertainment Software Association announcing another record year for the ever-growing industry. 2016 saw video game revenues of $30.4 billion across all platforms and retail channels, up from $30.2 billion in 2015.
The majority of this $30.4 billion figure came from software sales, which the ESA says includes “physical packaged goods, mobile games, downloadable content, subscriptions, and other revenue streams”. These types of sales resulted in $24.5 billion, which is much higher than the $23.2 billion earned via these methods in 2015.
Gaming hardware makes up the rest of the $30.4 billion, with consoles, PCs, and VR headsets amounting to billions of dollars in revenue. The new platforms also helped spur software sales, including on PC which was said to be the most diverse marketplace in video games. “Finally, the PC platform was the most diverse and dynamic of all growth platforms, with a record number of titles reaching PC gamers in 2016,” read the report.
While video games as a whole are still growing, there are still those proclaiming the death of consoles or other segments of the gaming market. PS4 and Xbox One are still selling extremely well though, and seem to have a long lifespan ahead of them with the recent refresh of the PS4 in the PS4 Pro, and the upcoming release of Xbox One Project Scorpio, which promises 4K visuals.
PC gaming has definitely been growing at a fast pace though, and it seems that 2016 was another banner year for the more open platform. VR helps with this as two of the major three headsets are exclusively available on PC. While 2016 didn’t end up being the “year of VR” that many hoped, the technology has established itself in the marketplace and could see huge growth in 2017.
What do you think? Are consoles still your go-to place for video games, or was 2016 a transition year for you? Let us know in the comments.
