With sites like GOG, Desura and Steam regularly offering games for prices below that of local bricks-and-mortar stores, you could comfortably assume Australian gamers are increasingly heading online for their purchases. Well, marketing outfit NPD Group now has figures to back this supposition up.
A story over on MCV Pacific provides an abridged report on the latest numbers from NPD’s local statistics-gathering activities. As of December 2012, 20 per cent of us are hitting the internet for our gaming purchases, up from 10 per cent in the previous year.
It’s important to note that “gaming purchases” in this context covers games, accessories and hardware, including consoles, with software making up a healthy 65 per cent of the pie. The article goes on to mention that majority of purchases fall under the $70-mark, with items priced at $50 or less the most popular.
We’ve covered the main factors behind this shift many times — the strength of the dollar coupled with lower international prices, the convenience of digital downloads and access to a wider variety of (sometimes unavailable or unmodified) titles.
None of these benefits look like they’ll be going away any time soon, so I see no reason why this figure won’t be even bigger come next year.
Image: Will / Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons 2.0
Leave a Reply