France's record €6.1bn year in games spending due to console growth, strong retail
SELL chairman James Rebours warns market will 'normalise' in 2024 after atypical growth in 2023
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The video game market in France saw an all-time high in consumer spending, with €6.1 billion generated by games products in 2023.
That's according to a new report by French games trade body SELL, which said the console space accounted for 52% of the market's total value at over €3 billion, up 24.1% year-on-year.
The end of supply issues for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S was a key factor here, with hardware sales up 16% year-on-year to €1.7 billion. Combined with accessories sales, with 6.6 million products shifted, hardware spending rose 17% to €2.3 billion.
Mobile accounted for €1.5 billion and represented 24% of the market, while PC generated €1.4 billion and also represented 24%.
The total market value is up 10% compared to 2022, and 9% higher than 2020.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, SELL chairman James Rebours attributed France's growth — at a time where other markets have shown minimal growth or remained flat — is partly due to bricks-and-mortar stores.
"France has a strong retail landscape committed in video games, having different profiles of players from games specialists, multi-specialists, hypermarkets and supermarkets, and online retailers," he said. "All this widely spread network is able to promote the video game and reinforce the efficiency of "retail as a media'."
However, Rebours warns that this is likely a peak for the French games market, with 2024 spending expecting to be different.
"After this exceptional year with a so-called alignment of the stars – such as consoles, hardware and accessories sales catching up, and an impressive lineup of titles – 2024 will be back to a 'normalized year' in regard to the cycle of the different consoles and the lineup of new releases already announced," he explained.
He continued: "Due to this important growth of 2023, the market has reached this peak of €6.1 billion, also driven by the mobile ecosystem. [There's] an exceptional mix of the different categories that have increased."