Aussie Game Industry Declines, PS3 Leads In Marketshare

Australia's game industry declined 16 percent from 2009 to 2010, finds new data from the local industry's trade body, iGEA, and market researchers Gfk Retail and Technology Australia. Total revenues down under reached $1.7 billion during the year. Console retail software sales fell 13 percent to 16.9 million units sold, and console hardware sales were also down a steep 27 percent to 1.6 million units sold. PC games remained a bright spot, however, with retail software sales up 7 percent to 3.1 million units. According to figures reported by GameSpot Australia, the PlayStation 3 is winning the region's console marketshare, selling over 1.1 million consoles in the region and accounting for 26.5 percent of all console sales, placing it ahead of its rivals. PS3 software accounts for 26.7 percent of Australia's game market, with an attach rate of a little over 10 games per console. However, the console's share had a boost from an initiative that saw it packaged with new Bravia television sets, among other promotions, and Sony didn't detail how many PS3s were sold individually at retail versus promo units. Microsoft didn't provide details for GameSpot's report, but said its Xbox 360 saw "its biggest year to date" in Australia during 2010, with total sales up 20 percent over 2009. The company said it doesn't release region-specific data, but according to the report Microsoft in August 2009 confirmed 700,000 Xbox 360 units sold across Australia and New Zealand.