Now that all three new consoles are out this year, UK isn’t letting the Manhunt 2 ordeal sour their sales, with the gaming market generating far more money than it was the year before. The first half of last year’s software, hardware, and accessory sales brought in revenues of £718 million, but the first half of this year’s UK revenues are already up to an impressive £1.02 billion.
Despite the rising cost of consoles bringing in a total of £304 million, the handhelds are still staying strong with £101 million in sales. The breakdown of software sales put Xbox 360 in the lead with £101 million, DS in second with £91 million, then the Wii with £46 million, and the young PS3 trailing with just £37 million. Although, when you look at the home console market, the stats completely flip, with Sony responsible for 47% of the sales, Nintendo grabbing 30%, and Microsoft bringing up the end with 22%.
The numbers are about where you’d expect them to be as the gaming industry grows stronger year after year, but the accessory sales seem to be rising even faster than other areas of the market. Since last year’s £57 million they’ve soared 74% to £98 million in sales. It doesn’t seem to matter where you enter the market, the whole industry is on fire this year.
[Via Next-Gen]
