Sales of console games are shifting to marketplaces

Based on the results of three quarters of 2023, sales of physical copies of console games (PlayStation, XBox, Nintendo) at retail decreased by 8.3% year-on-year in physical terms and by 6% in monetary terms. The opposite situation is observed on marketplaces and classified sites, where trade in game discs is gradually shifting: the number of sales transactions, for example, on Avito, increased by 10% year on year.

Based on the results of nine months of this year, retail sales of discs with console games (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo) amounted to 1.1 million units, or 3.4 billion rubles. Compared to the same period in 2022, the market decreased both in physical terms (1.2 million discs were sold then) and in monetary terms (from 3.6 billion rubles). The data was provided to Kommersant by a source in a large electronics distributor. M.Video-Eldorado did not provide absolute figures for the market, disclosing only the share of sales of console games by platform (see table). The network representative added that he expects a seasonal increase in sales of physical copies of console games in the fourth quarter, when “a large number of new products appear, the period of sales and selection of New Year’s gifts begins.”

The emerging decline in retail game sales is returning the figures to 2021 levels after a sharp increase in 2022. Thus, the number of discs sold in the three quarters of 2023 coincides with the figure for the same period of the last “pre-war” year – 1.1 million. After February 2022, Russian console owners encountered problems when purchasing digital copies of games on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Game Store: sites have limited payment acceptance. This led to an increase in demand for physical copies of discs (see Kommersant, July 22, 2022).

With a comparable number of discs sold, average retail prices are rising. Previously, distributors had the opportunity to work directly with international game publishers, explains Buk. “Now, due to the departure of most publishers from the Russian market, companies have had to adapt to new conditions, change business processes and logistics,” says a company representative. “There are bypass trade routes, they are almost impossible to block, but they also make games more expensive,” agrees the head of the Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry (RVI), Vasily Ovchinnikov. In September, RBC, citing data from the Russian Association of Distributors and Importers of Video Games (RADI), wrote that the average price for one disc with a game increased by 73% – from 3.7 thousand to 6.4 thousand rubles. “In the new realities, pricing is influenced by the availability of the product and the conditions of its purchase from the supplier; this may also include local taxes at the place of purchase. Other important factors besides logistics are exchange rates, transaction costs, Russian taxes and duties,” explains a representative of M.Video-Eldorado.

At the same time, the opposite situation is observed in the sales of console games through marketplaces and classifieds. Thus, TMT Consulting told Kommersant that according to the results of three quarters of 2023, 950 thousand similar transactions were made through Avito, which is 10% more than in the same period last year. “Kommersant” noticed that prices for games on marketplaces are usually lower than in networks. For example, Cyberpunk 2077 (ps4) on Yandex. Market” sells from 2.7 thousand rubles, on Wildberries – from 2.1 thousand rubles, and in M.Video the same game costs about 3.7 thousand rubles. In Yandex. Market declined to comment; Wildberries did not respond to the request. Kommersant’s interlocutor on the video game market suggests that the demand for physical copies of console games will in the future shift from classic retail to marketplaces and classifieds: “The price difference for buyers looks too significant.”

Nikita Korolev