According to figures published by GfK, the South African games industry grew to a mammoth R1.7 billion in 2011.
3.86 million games were sold in South Africa in 2011. In comparison, 3.48 million games were sold it 2010, and 3.64 million in 2008.
Although more games were sold in 2011 than in 2010, revenue generated by game sales was actually down. In 2010 game sales generated R923.72 million, while in 2011 sales turned over R915.52 million. This decrease has been attributed partly to a decrease in PC games sales, which dropped from 1.02 million to 927,861 games sold.
The decrease in revenue generated by this segment can partly be put down to the growing popularity of digital distribution channels in South Africa. With uncapped broadband becoming an affordable reality to many gamers, more are choosing to purchase their games online.
While the software market may have shrunk, hardware sales jumped nicely from 283,312 units in 2010 to 346,506 in 2011. Total console sales hit the 4.64 million mark, running the value of console gaming hardware in SA up to R1 715 608 975.
The current growth path of the local games industry runs contrary the industry on a global scale, which has seen a 3 percent decline in games sales, and a 6 percent decline in hardware sales over the past year.
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With all the specials on steam, esp at the end of the year, I hardly ever walk into a games store these days…