Il 2023 has taken its first steps, but in the meantime data and statistics relating to the 2022 recently concluded, this time focused on the entire European territory where clear winners emerge both in terms of hardware and in terms of software.
As revealed by Christopher Dring Of Games Industry in un thread su Twitter, Nintendo Switch it is confirmed to be the best-selling console of the last 12 months in Europe, reaching the top of the podium in almost all countries with the sole exception of Norway (where the best-selling is Xbox Series X/S), Sweden and Denmark (dominates PS5 in these two territories). As we know Nintendo Switch overtook PS5 last in UK, but still the hybrid console Nintendo also register a 25% drop in sales compared to what was achieved in 2021, while the Xbox Series X / S, despite finishing in third position on European soil, is the only platform to have recorded growth during 2022.
On the software side, however, FIFA 23 it turns out undisputed winner across Europe: the football title of Electronic Arts finished first in the commercial charts of every country with the sole exception of Finland where the best-selling game of 2022 was Elder Ring. Dring says software sales in 2022 have marked a decline, however he specifies that new games released in the last year have recorded a 16% increase compared to what was done by titles released in 2021.
Finally, in terms of software sales, the United Kingdom proves to be the most prolific market, followed in second position by Germania (which in 2022 recorded a 13% drop in the number of games sold), and with the France in third place (slight decrease of 3% compared to 2021). Italia e Spain are further behind, but both register an increase in terms of software sold over the past year.
Also proposed by the British market, returning instead to the new year, God of War Ragnarok opened 2023 in first place in the UK rankings, overcoming the competition from FIFA 23 and COD Modern Warfare II.
A few stats about the European games market.
In terms of consoles, Switch was way out in the lead, but sales are down 25% on 2021. Xbox Series S/X is third place but was the only platfom to grow year-on-year. This is based on tracked GSD countries (UK & Germany data is missing).
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) January 12, 2023
Overall game sales are down, but new game sales (games released in 2022) were up 16% compared with 2021’s new games
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) January 12, 2023
UK was the No.1 country across Europe for game sales, ahead of Germany, which saw a hefty decline in game sales of 13%. France is No.3 with game sales down 3%. Italy and Spain’s markets grew year-on-year.
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) January 12, 2023
