Major publishers including Electronic Arts, Take-Two and Sony are now selling more console games digitally than boxed.
EAsaid on Thursday that 52% of itsXbox OneandPS4software unit sales over the past 12 months were digital, up from 49% reported in May.
Sony also said in Maythat 51% of its game sales during the 12 months to March 2020 were digital, up from 37% in the year before.
And during the 12 months to March 2020, 55% ofTake-Two’s console software sales were also digital, according to Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad.
“It’s worth noting that we entered the current console generation (2013) with digital downloads accounting for around 5-10% of unit sales,” hesaidon Thursday. “Now we’re entering next gen with 50%+ as standard.”
In some European regions, digital has been the predominate means of sale for a year, according toGamesIndustry.biz.
Digital sales have been particularly strong during the Covid-19 pandemic. Research firm SuperData said worldwide digital gaming revenue in March reached a record monthly total of $10 billion following the introduction of social isolation measures designed to combat the coronavirus. The figure rose to $10.54 billion in April and totalled $10.46 billion in June.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is estimated to havesold five million copies digitally in March—more than any other console game in history—whileThe Last of Us Part 2recorded thebiggest digital launch month sales of any PlayStation exclusivein June.
TwoPS5models are scheduled to launch during the 2020 holiday season. While one will have an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive,the other will sacrifice the feature, likely for a lower price point. According to recent analysis, thePS5 Digital Edition could cost $50 lessthan the disc version.
Microsoftmay also be gearing up to release a digital-only next-gen console alongsideXbox Series Xthis holiday. As reported bymultiple media outletsincluding VGC, Lockhart – or Series S, as it’s likely to be called – is a less powerful version of Series X that will likely target cost-conscious consumers.
