The Most Popular Gaming Consoles And Video Games in 2024

This article focuses on data about the most popular gaming consoles and sports video games around the world. The information is based on Google searches within the last 12 months which are seen as a good indicator of popularity, illustrated by the analysis below.

Most Popular Consoles Worldwide

The sample of gaming consoles includes those with the highest usage in the global gaming market. There are a number of consoles that have very little impact but the following account for the vast majority of sales around the world:

• PS5
• Nintendo Switch
• Xbox Series X
• PS4
• Xbox Series S

These consoles have been launched over the last few years but are still widely used in many countries. The technology provides an adequate platform for the latest video games. However, some are more suited to video gaming. So, the analysis shows a significant range of usage with regards to popularity in countries in which the consoles are available.

PS5 Popularity

The most revealing result of the data showed that the PS5 is by far the most popular gaming console around the world, taking Google searches into account. In fact, the console is the most popular in more countries than the other countries in the analysis in total. That translates to a market share of over 54.87%. Hence, in economic theory, this dominance is seen as a monopoly. PS5 accounts for the most Google searches about gaming consoles in 107 countries out of a sample of 195 countries. So, those numbers indicate the PS5 dominates the gaming consoles market. Hence, it is most often the first port of call when a player wants to buy a console for the first time or replace an existing console.

Other Gaming Consoles

Nintendo Switch finishes second with the highest popularity in 69 countries. This equates to almost 35.38% of the Google search over a 12 month period. The Google searches suggest the console’s position in second place looks safe. Xbox Series X and PS4 rank highest in popularity in 6 and 5 countries respectively. They have virtually no chance of challenging the PS5 for the most popularity.

Most Popular Video Games Around the World in 2024

When looking at the most popular video games based on Google searches of the past 12 months, they are: 

• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Resident Evil 4
• Assassins Creed
• Mirage
• Starfield

Baldur’s Gate 3 was the most popular video game in 67 out of 195 countries, equating to 34.36% of the total searches, followed closely by Resident Evil 4, which was the most popular in 50 out of 195 countries (25.64%).  In third and fourth place are Assassin's Creed Mirage (most popular in 31 countries) and Starfield (most popular in 25 countries), respectively.

METHODOLOGY

• The data for the most popular average monthly searches in the last 12 months was gained through Google Keywords Planner
• In case of consoles/games with multiple common names (for example: playstation 4 and ps4), both of the terms were part of the analysis to allow the most popular search term to be revealed
• 19 search terms were analyzed for gaming consoles data, 52 search terms were analyzed for video games data, and 36 search terms were analyzed for sports video games data; the search terms can be found in its entirety here