CANADA: Annual games market soars

Following last week’s news that the

North American video games market

grew by 19 per cent to hit $21.33bn last year, NPD figures have also shown that the Canadian industry in isolation also enjoyed significant growth,

CBC

reports.

Sales of consoles, games and accessories in the region totalled $2.09bn in 2008, 23 per cent up on the year before, with Nintendo’s Wii once again proving the dominant force by claiming 44.1 per cent of total home console sales. Xbox 360 accounted for 25.5 per cent and PS3 21.7 per cent.

In the portable market Nintendo was once again dominant, with DS grabbing a 75.5 per cent slice of the sector.

In total, in excess of 1.9 million consoles were sold in the country in 2008. The best selling software title was EA’s Rockband, which was closely followed by Grand Theft Auto IV, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit.

We believe the Wii has really hit a great price point in the market,” NPD’s Matthew Tattle stated. It’s really expanded the user base. It’s gone beyond the traditional gamer market.”

The good news mirrors the growth seen in the UK, with Japan so far being the only nation to see losses in its games market.