A March 2024 survey found that 28 percent of adults in the United States played video games on a console at least once per week. Weekly console gaming was highest among respondents aged 35 to 54 years, with more than four in ten of respondents in this age group confirming that they did so.

In the fiscal year ending March 2025, Nintendo generated approximately 326 billion yen through digital gaming sales. This includes sales of downloadable versions of packaged software, download-only software, add-on content and Nintendo Switch Online, and similar. During the measured period, digital sales accounted for 53.5 percent of the company's gaming software sales.

A September to November 2024 survey of UK adults aged 16 years and older found that almost three in ten male respondents had ever played games on a gaming console. In the United Kingdom, men were more likely to play console games than women, but female console gaming audiences grew significantly since 2019. Console gaming is the second-most popular type of video gaming in the UK, ranking only behind mobile gaming in terms of audience reach.

A survey conducted in the third quarter of 2024 found that over 92 percent of female internet users aged 16 to 24 years worldwide played video games on any kind of device. During the survey period, 93 percent of male respondents in the same age group stated that they played video games. Worldwide, over 83 percent of internet users were gamers.

As of June 2024, 27 percent of adults in the United States spent one to five hours per week playing video games. A further 10 percent of respondents stated that they spent 11 to 15 hours on video gaming in an average week. Overall, 19 percent of respondents were non-gamers and did not spend any time on video games.

The Sony PlayStation 5 was the best-selling video game console worldwide in 2024, selling over 19.65 million units across the globe, having successfully overtaken the Nintendo Switch console in annual unit sales in 2023. The modern-day console wars While the term “console wars” was originally coined to describe the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo in the video game market during the 1980s and 1990s, the modern usage refers to the battle for supremacy between the PlayStation and Xbox brands. The most recent battle between these console giants has been fought out between their eight-generation consoles, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. However, while PlayStation 4 sales in Europe reached more than 45 million units alone, Microsoft’s global Xbox One Sales are yet to reach 60 million units worldwide. This duel has also turned into a three-way battle thanks to the enormous success of Nintendo’s hybrid video game console, the Nintendo Switch. Despite being released over three years later than its rivals, Switch global sales have already reached over 130 million units worldwide, with over a third of the regional console sales occurring in North America. The future of console gaming This fight for supremacy shows no signs of slowing down with the next battle of the console wars upon the horizon. Following years of speculation, both Sony and Microsoft released their next-generation consoles in the lead up to the 2020 holiday season as PlayStation 5 and Xbox S respectively. Sony continues to have the upper hand, as sales of its PlayStation 5 hit over 38 million units as of 2022. In comparison, estimates have Microsoft’s Xbox X/S Series sales at around 21 million units as of April 2023.

A September to November 2024 survey of UK adults aged 16 years and older found that over five in ten respondents aged between 16 and 24 years played games on a gaming console. Console gaming was the second-most popular type of video gaming in the UK, ranking only behind mobile gaming in terms of audience reach.

As of 2021, North America accounted for over *** million console gaming users, more than ** percent of global console gaming audiences. Europe was ranked second with about **** million console gaming users.

In 2023, the unit sales of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S video game consoles amounted to nearly 7.5 million units, decreasing considerably from just above the 8.65 million units sold in the previous year. Xbox X/S’s predecessor, the Xbox One, was put to market in 2013 and sold roughly 58 million units in total until the end of its lifespan in 2020. Xbox Designed by Microsoft, Xbox is a series of video game consoles including the original Xbox, Xbox 360 and the newest Xbox One. Respectively belonging to the sixth, seventh, and eighth generations of video game consoles, the Xbox consoles established Microsoft’s standing in the video game industry, with Sony and Nintendo as the other two major competitors. The latest Xbox models Series X and S were released in November 2020, two days before the release of PlayStation 5. They became the first Xbox consoles to offer 4K gaming at up to 120 frames per second and introduced a new wireless controller to the lineup. Console Gaming Since the release of the world’s first gaming console in 1972, the Magnovox Odyssey, the console gaming industry has exploded in popularity and become a massive global industry. Modern consoles regularly sell tens of millions of units throughout their lifespan, as players from around the world compete in everything from virtual sports to medieval fantasies. In 2023, Sony’s Playstation 5, Nintendo’s Switch and the Xbox Series X/S were the highest-selling game consoles worldwide, each selling millions of units annually.

The global average revenue per capita in the 'Game Consoles' segment of the consumer electronics market was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.2 U.S. dollars (+6.43 percent). After the tenth consecutive increasing year, the average revenue per capita is estimated to reach 3.3 U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the average revenue per capita of the 'Game Consoles' segment of the consumer electronics market was continuously increasing over the past years.The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

The global revenue in the 'Game Consoles' segment of the consumer electronics market was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 2.6 billion U.S. dollars (+10.78 percent). After the tenth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 26.69 billion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the revenue of the 'Game Consoles' segment of the consumer electronics market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find further information concerning the volume in the consumer electronics market in Italy and the revenue in the 'consumer electronics' segment of the e-commerce market in the United States.The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

A global September 2020 survey found that ********* had the highest console gaming reach with ** percent of the population playing games on consoles. Spain followed in second place with a ** percent console gaming penetration.

In 2020, gamers aged 25 to 34 years were the largest group of U.S. console gamers, accounting for ** percent of console gaming audiences in the United States. Teenagers aged 13 to 17 years made ** percent of U.S. console gamers.

Significant fluctuations are estimated for all segments over the forecast period for the revenue share. Only for the segment Online, a significant increase can be observed over the forecast period. Here, the online revenue share exhibits a difference of 28.24 percent between 2018 and 2027. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

Since its release in November 2020, the Xbox Series X and Series S has sold well over 32 million units worldwide. In 2024, the Xbox X/S sold approximately 4.79 million units. The modern-day console wars While the term “console wars” was originally coined to describe the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo in the video game market during the 1980s and 1990s, the modern usage refers to the battle for supremacy between the PlayStation and Xbox brands. The most recent battle between these console giants has been fought out between their eight-generation consoles, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. However, while the PlayStation 4 has sold over 45 million units in Europe alone, Microsoft’s console is yet to reach 60 million unit sales worldwide. This duel has also turned into a three-way battle thanks to the enormous success of Nintendo’s hybrid video game console, the Nintendo Switch. Despite being released over 3 years later than its rivals, the console has already racked up over 140 million unit sales worldwide, approximately a quarter of which were in North America. The future of console gaming This fight for supremacy shows no signs of slowing down, with the next battle of the console wars upon the horizon. Sony continues to have the upper hand, as sales of its PlayStation 5 reached 20 million in 2023. In comparison, estimates have Microsoft shipping 3.1 million units of its Xbox Series X in 2023.

Sony's fourth generation console, the PlayStation 4, was first released worldwide in 2013. As of October 2024, it had sold over 117 million units across the world, including 45.9 million units in Europe. PlayStation console history PlayStation is a Japanese video game brand produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a division of the Sony Corporation. The PlayStation video game console is the most widely known product under the PlayStation umbrella, with the first PlayStation console released in Japan in December 1994, and worldwide the following year. Since then, Sony has released a further four video game consoles - PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and the PlayStation 5, the last released in November 2020. Sony has also released two handheld video game consoles: the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation Vita. Video game console market As a whole, revenue from the video game console market surpassed 24 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Analysts have put this down to the many people who turned to home entertainment during periods of self-isolation throughout the coronavirus pandemic, with the accessibility of game consoles making them a popular choice. By 2026, video game console revenues are expected to exceed 26 billion U.S. dollars, with the U.S. console market set to reach 8.5 billion U.S. dollars.

In 2023, the digital console gaming market sales amounted to 32.1 billion U.S. dollars, compared to 45.8 billion U.S. dollars generated by the digital PC gaming market. Packaged gaming sales only amounted to 9.3 billion U.S. dollars.

The statistic presents the number of active console and PC gamers worldwide in 2020. In 2020, ** percent of active console and PC gamers were millennials aged between 23 and 38 and ** percent of gamers were Gen X aged between 39 and 50 worldwide.

First released in November 2006, the Wii is a video game console developed by Nintendo. As of November 2024, it had sold 101.6 million units across the world, including over 33 million units in Europe. Nintendo history Nintendo is a multinational consumer electronics and software company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in September 1889 as a small Japanese firm producing handmade playing cards, Nintendo has evolved into one of the largest video game manufacturing companies. Operating as a single business segment, Nintendo’s operations are categorized by product type such as video game platforms, mobile, and playing cards. Most of Nintendo’s revenue is generated through sales of video game platforms. Nintendo home consoles Nintendo released its first series of home consoles in 1977 with the Color TV-Game. In 1983, the company released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), a console that has recorded close to 62 million lifetime sales globally. This was followed by the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo 64 (N64), and Nintendo GameCube, respectively. In 2006, Nintendo released the Wii, the popular home console with motion control features, with its successor the Wii U released in 2012. Nintendo’s latest home console, the Nintendo Switch, was first released in 2017.

First released in November 2005 as a successor to the original Xbox, the Xbox 360 is a video game console produced by Microsoft. As of November 2024, it had sold 85.7 million units across the world, including over 46 million units in North America.