Revealed: The REAL size of the UK games market

The High Street may be having a tough time, but the UK games market is still incredibly healthy, MCV research shows today.

For the first time, we can reveal the true value of the UK games market, showing that consumers spent over 3bn on their hobby in 2011.

It’s proof that mobile, downloads and licensed toys are picking up the slack as other parts of the market soften.

This impressive figure – 3.226bn to be precise – includes data on online, mobile, and merchandising.

And it flies in the face of conventional wisdom which says market shrinkage hit during the last 12 months.

In fact, when you combine data from some of the most respected research agencies, as we have below, you see game brands are more powerful than ever, even if the core High Street is facing some of its most challenging trading weeks.

Add online revenues to boxed market data and it’s clear digital made up 30 per cent of a 2bn UK software market last year.
2011 was also a watershed year for spin-off toys, DVDs and soundtracks, making 70m in revenue last year.

(Infographic below, followed by full text.)

BRITAIN’S 3.266 BILLION GAMES BONANZA

520m SPENT ON ONLINE GAMES
Xbox Live subscriptions, casual games, social gaming, download to own and streaming/on-demand games
Source: Nick Parker/IHS Screen Digest

158m SPENT ON MOBILE GAMING
Download-to-own apps and in-game purchases
Source: Juniper Research

60m SPENT ON TOYS & MERCHANDISE
Spin-off toys and products based on video game properties such as Sonic, Moshi Monsters and Mario
Source: NPD Group

7.5m SPENT ON GAMES MUSIC & FILMS
Soundtracks and movie/anime spin-offs
Source: Official Charts Company and label estimates

2.2m SPENT ON EVENT TICKETS
Price paid by attendees to get into consumer shows like Eurogamer Expo, GAMEfest, MCM Expo
Source: Industry estimates

452m SPENT ON CONSOLE HARDWARE
Pure games machines such as 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS/DS, PSP, etc.
Source: GfK Chart-Track annual data

646m SPENT ON PERIPHERALS & ACCESSORIES
Peripherals plus Xbox Live and PlayStation Network pre-paid cards
Source: GfK Chart-Track annual data

1.42bn SPENT ON BOXED SOFTWARE
PC and console games sold on the High Street, at supermarkets or via online retailers
Source: GfK Chart-Track annual data

…THAT’S A MARKET WORTH AT LEAST 3.266 BILLION.
(And 30% bigger than the allegedly ‘declining’ UK market figures published in January)