Next-gen console sales set to soar in 2007

by Angus Kidman

Sunday, 07 January 2007

2006 may have kicked off the latest round of the console wars, but 2007 will see the real activity commence, with console sales set to boom by 23%, new research suggests.

According to US market figures released today by the Consumer Electronics Association CES, console sales should grow to $US16 billion over the course of 2007, fuelled by an increasing range of games for Sony's PS3 and Nintendo's Wii, and a rumoured upgrade to Microsoft's Xbox.

That growth will make consoles the second-biggest category of consumer electronics, according to the CEA. The top category is televisions and other display devices, which are expected to top $US26 billion. Whether that figure will be assisted by the continuing tendency of Wii owners to smash their screens by losing control of the remote wasn't specified.

Overall sales for consoles should be even healthier, given that Sony's PS3 will become available in European and Australian markets during the year. Total consumer electronics sales in the US will reach $US145 billion, according to the CEA, which released the figures just ahead of the official opening of its CES trade show in Las Vegas
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