The overall total industry consumer spending on video gaming in the U.S. reached to a record high in the second quarter of 2020.
During the April – June period, the total consumer spending on video games in the U.S. recorded $11.6 billion, an increase of 30% when compared to the same time period last year, and a 7% increase over the first quarter 2020 (January – March) record $10.9 billion.
According to the Q2 2020 Games Market Dynamics: U.S.* report from The NPD Group, sales of video game content reached $10.2 billion in the second quarter, up 28 percent when compared to a year ago. Gains were seen across new physical content, digital console and PC content, mobile and subscription spending. Strong growth across Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One led to an overall hardware category sales increase of 57% to $848 million. Sales of video game accessories including gamepads, headsets, steering wheels and other peripherals increased 50% to $584 million.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Warzone, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Final Fantasy VII: Remake, Grand Theft Auto V, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Minecraft, NBA 2K20, Pokémon Go and The Last of Us: Part II were among the best-performing titles of the second quarter.
“Today, we have more video game players playing for more hours, while spending more in the process; and what gamers old and new are discovering is an industry that has a wide array of experiences available to them regardless of device and budget,” said Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group. “During the pandemic, many have turned to video games not only to keep them preoccupied, but also to stay in touch with family and friends. This has resulted in an acceleration of what were already established trends towards heightened video game player engagement. I don’t see any signs of this slowing down.”
*Accessory sales exclude game cards
