The gaming industry seemed to even be flourishing despite the COVID-19 pandemic as the overall total industry consumer spending on video games in the U.S hit a record of $11.6 billion in the second quarter of 2020.
According to a new report by The NPD Group, this is a seven percent increase from the previous record set in 2019’s first quarter, which was $10.9 billion.
It further revealed that the bulk of the sales in the second quarter was via video game content, meaning physical, digital, mobile, and subscription spending, which totaled $10.2 billion.
$848 million was generated from hardware sales across the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while in $584 million was realised from video game accessories.
With these were being big-time increases overspending in the same period in 2019, it’s all down to more video game players playing for more hours and spending more in the process.
Mat Piscatella, the games industry analyst at The NPD Group, explained that, but old and new gamers are discovering that the industry has a wide array of experiences, regardless of device and budget.
In the NPD’s report, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Warzone, Candy Crush Saga, Grand Theft Auto V, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Minecraft, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Final Fantasy VII: Remake, NBA 2K20, Pokémon Go and The Last of Us: Part II were mentioned as the best-performing titles of the quarter.
Why such a substantial increase? The answer wasn’t far fetched as NPD cited the pandemic as the main reason. It also said that the increase in spending doesn’t mean that the momentum is coming to an end.
Piscatella further explained that many turned to video games during the pandemic to keep them preoccupied and to stay in touch with family and friends.
Piscatella said this resulted in an acceleration of established trends towards heightened video game player engagement, and he doesn’t see any signs of it slowing down.
