European video game spend has spiked in the midst of the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown, new data from the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and Games Sales Data shows (with thanks to analyst Daniel Ahmad).
In comparison to the same time period in 2019, 2020’s lockdown has seen a 51% increase in console software spending and a 12% increase year over year. Funnily enough, European consumers were actually spending 17% less on software, compared to the year before, prior to the lockdown.
On the hardware front, console spend had dipped 10% in the pre-lockdown period (when compared to the same time in 2019), but skyrocketed 72% right before the lockdown began. All up, 2020 lockdown hardware spend has risen 84% as compared to the same period in 2019.
While it’s certain that the lockdown has greatly impacted the need for consoles and software, there’s no denying that new content has helped to bolster these figures. On the hardware front, Nintendo released a new Animal Crossing New Horizons–themed Switch and on the software side we’ve seen titles like Resident Evil 3, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and more.
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