US game spending hits a new quarterly high

The NPD Group has reported that US game spending for the quarter between April and June 2020 reached a new record high.

The firm announced that US game spending for Q2 hit $11.6 billion, up by 30 percent year-on-year. It’s also an increase of 7 percent compared to Q1, in which spending hit a previous record high of $10.6 billion.

Video game content accounted for $10.2 billion of the total for the quarter, which is up by 28 percent year-on-year. Sales were driven by new physical releases, PC and console digital content, mobile sales, and subscription fees.

The games that led the charge in terms of sales were Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Candy Crush Saga, Call of Duty: Warzone, Candy Crush Soda Saga, MArio Kart 8 Deluxe, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Grand Theft Auto 5, NBA 2K20, Minecraft, The Last Of Us Part 2, and Pokemon Go.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the best-selling game of the year so far as of June, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Last Of Us Part 2 following close behind.

Hardware sales hit $848 million, up by 57 percent year-on-year, with all three current-generation consoles showing growth. Spending on accessories was also up at $584 million, an increase of 50 percent year-on-year.

NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella took to Twitter to share further details on the report. He explained that all three consoles of the current-generation have seen growth of 47 percent year-on-year. He believes that this should help reduce the stock of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles that’s left, particularly with stock shortages taken into account.

Piscatella also confirmed that one in every three people in the US owns either an Xbox One or A PlayStation 4, or both. Data also showed that 82 percent of current-generation console owners also played a mobile game during Q2.

He summed up by saying that today we have a breadth of games that’s so wide that anyone who discovers it can find any type of experience that they’re after. He also said that he sees no signs of the engagement with games slowing down. People turned to games to stay in touch with friends and family during the pandemic, and that doesn’t seem like it’s going to change any time soon.