Market for game consoles in Germany grows

Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 3, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.

In the first half of 2007, according to industry association BITKOM, manufacturers recorded an increase of 73 percent compared with the first half of 2006, with revenue of 276 million euros. Sales climbed by 39 percent to 1.3 million units in the same period. “The historic peak values show that interest in game consoles is unbroken”, said Manfred Gerdes, member the BITKOM presidium.

Sony in particular recently had to contend with a sluggish start and weakening sales of its new Playstation 3 and remained just below its own expectations. In Europe, the PS3 came onto the market only at the end of March because of numerous delays. Overall, however, demand for the gaming devices is rising significantly in Germany. For the full year 2007, BITKOM expects revenue growth of 45 percent to 705 million euros and sales growth of 28 percent. This would mean that, following the strong-selling Christmas business, 3.7 million devices would go over store counters in Germany for the first time. BITKOM’s market assessment is based on a survey conducted for the association by market research company GfK.