Used and Digital Sales Make Up 35% Of US Console Spending.
US gamers are like US anything – we like our shit cheap and easy. This explains why 35% of our console spending is on titles that are either used, or digitally accessible.
Joystiq:
American gamers buy more used and digitally distributed games than their European doppelgangers, according to a study released by market analysis firm NewZoo. The organization’s statistical findings show that 23 percent of console games purchased in the U.S. are used; slightly more than the European market where used games account for 20 percent of total console sales.
Digitally distributed titles rank lower in both regions, taking up 12 percent of the console market in America and 9 percent in Europe. That 12 percent, by the way, represents approximately $960 million, on account of 54 percent of American console owners reportedly spending an average of $49 a year on console downloads.
American PC gaming culture appears to have adopted the idea of digital distribution much faster than the console market, as an estimated 58 of all PC gaming dollars are spent on digitally distributed games or DLC. Now, we’re no market analysts, but we think the disparity between PC and console download shares has a lot to do with PC gaming’s readily available plethora of hats.
Tangibility? Full price? Pah! A pox on both.