As console sales soar in Australia, theres a clear winner. Sony’s PS4
Thats according to NPD Group, PlayStation 4 was best selling console in Australia for 2013, ahead of arch rival Xbox One
But there was a strong showing by Nintendo’s 3DS and 2DS.
PS3 was the top selling console last year, usurped by PS4 last month, as stock became more readily available in Australia, after shortages, Sony said in a statement, jumping on the win over Xbox.
The value of the Aussie console market jumped one third, or 27% last year, on the back of next gen Xbox and PlayStation releases.
This was despite both Xbox One and PS4 on sale for just only 6 weeks of last year.
OZ gamers spent $2 billion on games last year up 13% on the back of mobile and new platform games. The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto, Battlefield, Bioshock, Tomb Raider and Pokemon were all big titles, according to NDP.
Consumers spent more than $452 million on mobile games like Angry Birds, Candy Crush. But it wasn’t buying the often free games, 70% of the spending on mobile games was for in-game transactions, or $316 million.
According to analysts Telsyte, digital games surged 50% in 2013, driven by in-game transactions buying lives, coins, as well as downloads, subscriptions to platforms like Xbox.
“It has been an enormous 12 months for PlayStation in Australia”, said Michael Ephraim, Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia.
“The arrival of PS4 at the end of 2013 has further strengthened the love affair Australian gamers have with PlayStation. PS4 has been an astronomic success in Australia; a story that is replicated around the globe.
“As the world’s most powerful home console, PS4 truly represents the next generation in gaming.”
But in the US, its a different story, where was best selling console was XBox One, according to NDP.
