Aussie games market grew 48% in 2008
National software, hardware and accessories revenue hits AU$2 billion
The latest information released by Australian retail information OzToys shows that 2008 was a bumper year of growth for the videogames industry in the country, with the market increasing by 47.8 per cent over 2007.
In total, factoring the sales of software, hardware and accessories, the total revenue figure for the year was AUD 1.96 billion (USD 1.36 billion), with more than half of that number spent on software.
Wii Fit was the best-selling title of the year, shifting over 373,000 units at an average retail price of AUD 130 (USD 90), while PC game sales rose by 4.2 per cent thanks to a bumper AUD 21.2 million (USD 14.6 million) haul in December alone.
Family Entertainment was the fastest-growing genre, up 137 per cent, and primarily based on sales from Nintendo- and Activision Blizzard-published titles. Nintendo also took the lion's share of hardware revenue at 66 per cent thanks to strong sales of the Wii and DS platforms.
OzToys is a joint venture between GfK and The NPD Group. The year's top ten best-selling titles by unit sales is as follows:
- 1. Wii Fit (Wii)
- 2. Wii Play (Wii)
- 3. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
- 4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
- 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3)
- 6. Grand Theft Auto IV (360)
- 7. Brain Training (DS)
- 8. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
- 9. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (DS)
- 10. Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii)