36 million games and 3.4 million consoles sold in the UK in 2021 | UK Annual Report

gamesindustry.biz:

Christopher Dring

Head of Games B2B

Tuesday 18th January 2022

GfK

Interactive Software Federation of Europe

35.8 million digital and physical games, 3.36 million consoles and 10.6 million accessories were sold in the UK during 2021.

This is according to software data from GSD, and hardware/accessories data from GfK.

SWITCH JUST BEATS PS5 TO NO.1

There was growth in the console space, driven by the first full year of the new PlayStation and Xbox machines. Combined Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox sales were up 14% compared to the year before, GfK data shows (note, the 2020 data covers 53 weeks, while the 2021 figures cover 52 weeks).

The No.1 console in the UK was Nintendo Switch, which overtook PlayStation 5 in the final weeks of the year. Half a million Switch consoles were sold over November and December alone, helped by a Mario Kart 8: Deluxe bundle that launched during Black Friday, and the new OLED version, which launched in October.

It was the Nintendo Switch's second-biggest year by quite a large margin, but was down over 2020. During that year, the console surged in popularity due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Xbox Series consoles were the third biggest platform group. The Series X variety accounted for 43% of all the Xbox Series consoles sold over the year, a figure that varied wildly over the weeks of 2021. For example, during the third quarter of the year (July - September) Series X was just 24% of the total sales, while in the final quarter (October - December), the X variety outsold the S (GfK figures).

Of course, demand significantly outstripped supply of both PS5 and Xbox Series X during last year.

FIFA 22 SALES UP OVER 21

Although consoles grew, software declined. According to GSD, 35.8 million games were sold in 2021