New Zealanders' Appetite for Video Games Continues to Skyrocket

The document is a May 2019 press release from the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) reporting on the New Zealand video games market for the 2018 calendar year. Its central message is that consumer spending on games in New Zealand reached $548 million in 2018, a 21 per cent increase over the previous year, with growth recorded across both physical retail and digital channels. The release positions this as evidence of a healthy and expanding industry.

The key figures break down as follows. Physical retail sales rose 21 per cent to $143.1 million, driven largely by console hardware and accessories, with accessories up 45 per cent to $27.7 million and hardware up 37 per cent to $59.3 million. Digital sales totalled $405 million, with mobile games the dominant category at $194 million, up 11 per cent. The release also notes that all three major gaming platforms recorded double-digit hardware growth in 2018, a result the sources describe as notable late in a console generation.

The data draws on market research from The NPD Group for physical retail and Telsyte for digital sales, with IGEA noting that its review of the New Zealand market has been produced since 2009 and combines these sources for a fuller picture. The scope covers the 2018 calendar year and focuses on consumer spending rather than player demographics, which the release says would be explored in a forthcoming biennial report.