UK consumers spent £2.9bn on games in 2012

Don’t believe the doom-mongers – our latest research shows the games market is doing better than you think.

Our annual look at the total size of the games market taking into account all revenue streams shows that 2.892bn was spent on video games software, hardware and accessories in 2012.

The figures is calculated by combining last year’s data from a variety of leading market trackers and analysts.

We’ve covered toys and merchandise, online and mobile estimates plus the classic core of boxed software, hardware and peripherals.

The total, 2.892bn, is down on last year’s calculations of 3.266bn (a number which we’re proud to say became a go-to statistic on market size for publishers, trade bodies and government agencies).

But the drop of 11 per cent beats the boxed product market’s 26 per cent collapse.

So while console shrink dealt a blow to the revenues being spent on all forms of games and spin-offs – the boom in digital goods and merchandise shows games have an unstoppable pulse.

Although the High Street is struggling as the current generation of consoles wraps up, new research from MCV has underlined the real size of digital content versus boxed goods.

In fact the figures show that it is only this slump in console product (boxed media, accessories and hardware) – excepted by many to pick up some pace later this year with the introduction of new machines from Sony and Microsoft – that have held the market back.

Pretty much every other category shows growth or stability.

The biggest boom was in mobile games, expected to have made 234m in the UK last year – up 48 per cent.

Online gaming revenues were up 25 per cent year on year too to 655m.

That means last year 45p in every 1 was spent on online or mobile games.

Toys and merchandise revenues were up 28 per cent to 77m.

(An infographic breakdown of our findings is below, followed by full text. Feel free to repost the image below in any reporting of this research, providing link back to this story.)

BRITONS SPEND 2.892 BILLION ON GAMES IN 2012

655m SPENT ON ONLINE GAMES
Xbox Live subscriptions, casual games, social gaming, download to own and streaming/on-demand games
– Up 25.9% year-on-year (2011: 520m)
Source: IHS Screen Digest

234m SPENT ON MOBILE GAMING
Download-to-own apps and in-game purchases
UP 48% year-on-year (2011: 158m)
Source: Juniper Research

77m SPENT ON TOYS & MERCHANDISE
Spin-off products based on video games brands
– Up 28% year-on-year (2011: 60m)
Source: NPD Group

7.2m SPENT ON DVD & MUSIC
Soundtracks, adaptations and movie/anim spin-offs
– Down 4% year-on-year (2011: 7.5m)
Source: Retailer estimates

2.4m SPENT ON ATTENDING EVENTS
Price paid for tickets to games consumer shows
– Up 9% year-on-year (2011: 2.2m)
Source: Industry estimates

454m SPENT ON CONSOLES
Spending on pure games machines
– Down 29.7% year-on-year (2011: 646m)
Source: GfK Chart-Track annual data

418m SPENT ON PERIPHERALS & ACCESSORIES
Hardware plus Skylanders and pre-paid cards
– Down 7.7% year-on-year (2011: 453m)
Source: GfK Chart-Track annual data

1.045bn SPENT ON BOXED SOFTWARE
PC and console games sold in stores or online
– Down 26% year-on-year (2011: 1.420bn)
Source: GfK Chart-Track annual data