A recent study from Germany highlights a significant shift in gaming habits driven by the high costs of gaming PCs. According to YouGov survey data, the number of PC gamers in Germany has dropped by 20% since 2019, while console gamers have increased by 29% over the same period.
The research surveyed 25,000 German participants, tracking their gaming platform usage over the past five years. The findings reveal that PC gamers decreased from 15.9 million in 2019 to 13.1 million in 2024. Conversely, console gamers rose from 16.3 million to 20.5 million, showing a clear upward trend.
It is important to note that this survey focuses on the platforms players actively use rather than hardware sales data. Despite the Nintendo Switch launching in 2017 and the PlayStation 5 debuting in 2020, both consoles continue to maintain strong market appeal.
While Xbox sales have declined in Europe, the platform still retains a stable user base. The study did not delve into specific reasons for the preference towards consoles, but industry experts generally attribute this to the rising costs of assembling high-performance PCs, especially with the persistent high prices of NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards, which raise the entry barrier for PC gaming.
In comparison, although the PS5 Pro’s launch price sparked some controversy, it remains a cost-effective option in the German market and has not experienced the price hikes seen with other PlayStation models.
Additionally, mobile gaming in Germany has shown steady growth, with smartphone usage as a gaming platform remaining stable over recent years, underscoring its solid market position.
