German Video Games Sales Hit $2.6 Billion

9:10 AM PDT 3/13/2012 by Scott Roxborough

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"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3"

Online gaming revenue in the territory soars 25 percent to $545 million.

COLOGNE, Germany -- No sign of a downturn in Germany's gaming industry, as figures released Tuesday show revenues from gaming up 3.5 percent to $2.6 billion (€2 billion) last year.

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The figures, from marketing institute GfK, suggest online gaming is increasingly becoming the motor for growth in the industry. German gamers spent some $545 million (€416 million) on online gaming last year -- a 25 percent year-on-year hike; $306 million of that was for virtual items.

Of traditional packaged games, Electronic Arts' soccer title FIFA 12 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from Activision Blizzard were the top sellers in the territory.

Without the online bump, the overall gaming market in Germany would have actually shrunk last year. The robust health of the German gaming business stands in contrast to U.S., Japanese and U.K. markets, all of which declined in 2011.