Smartphones are the most popular games platform

• More than 18 million Germans play games on smartphones
• Games consoles gain 700,000 new gamers
• German games market grows to 4.4 billion euros

Smartphones are the most popular games platform among German gamers, as reported today by game – the German Games Industry Association, based on data collected by the market research company GfK. A total of 18.6 million people in this country – another 400,000 more than the last year – play games on their smartphones. The number playing on games consoles rose even more sharply, showing an addition of 700,000 players. Nintendo’s Switch, the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox are used by 16.7 million people in Germany. The PC, which until 2017 had long been the most popular games platform in Germany, lost an especially large number of players, 3.9 million, compared to the previous year. With 13.4 million gamers, it ranked third in use among games platforms in Germany. Tablets also saw a drop in use for gaming, to 10.9 million players. Overall, more than 34 million Germans play computer and video games. The average age is 36.4 years.

‘For young and old, women and men alike – within just a few years, the smartphone has developed into the most popular games platform in Germany,’ says game Managing Director Felix Falk. ‘The high availability, the broad offerings of free games and the huge variety of titles have greatly expanded the market for game apps, which has driven the overall games market in the last several years.’

Source: the German Games Industry Association