Sales of pre-owned games have increased by 25% in the UK this year, according to data released by research company Kantar Worldpanel.
As reported by MCV, pre-owned sales were valued at £126.3m for the 12 months ending August 2, up 25% on the previous year’s sales. But despite more money being spent on pre-owned games, the number of people buying them is said to remain “steady” at around 3.2m, with the average customer spending around £40.
The majority of pre-owned games are allegedly being sold on Xbox 360 and PS3, however, with only 1 in 3 titles pre-owned games being purchased on PS4 and Xbox One. With a smaller back-catalogue of titles available on those consoles, though, that figure shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
Gamers under the age of 25 account for a third of pre-owned sales, too.
The increase in pre-owned sales arrives as sales of new boxed games continues to fall. According to Chart-Track, physical mint sales have decreased by 1.1% in 2015 so far.
It also follows two years after major publishers decided to drop the controversial Online Pass, a system that prevented pre-owned players from accessing online multiplayer and/or certain other functionality unless they purchased an additional license.
For more stats on the pre-owned market, head through to MCV.
Source: mcvuk.com
