We’re now on the second quarter of the year and for millions of people around the world, we are also now in the second month of being in quarantine at home. Most countries have declared locked down due to the global pandemic. The situation has definitely changed a lot of things for many people. There is a battle to survive the boredom. Good thing that in this day and age, there are plenty of means for entertainment. The internet is one major source of productivity.
For others, they have their laptops or gaming consoles. The popularity can be measured by looking at digital content spend. For the first quarter (Q1), The NPD Group actually discovered industry consumer spending on video gaming in the United States hit $10.86 billion. There is a nine percent increase from last year’s number, same quarter.
As for video game content, sales increased by eleven percent from last year to $9.58 billion. The increase in spending can be seen in different areas like hardware and accessories, mobile and subscription spending, as well as, digital console and PC content.
In Q1, a number of video games performed well including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, DOOM Eternal, Fortnite, MLB The Show 20, NBA 2K20, Minecraft, and Grand Theft Auto V. Spending has really gone up because more people are just staying at home.
Some other highlights of the report:
• sales of video game accessories (gamepads/headsets/cases) reached $503 million, 1 percent increase
• Nintendo Switch hardware and software sales grew, offsetting declines across other platforms
• video game hardware sales increased to $773 million (up by two percent)
The NPD Group shared: “As people have stayed at home more, they’ve utilized gaming not only as a diversion and an escape, but also as a means of staying connected with family and friends. Whether it was on console or mobile, PC or virtual reality, gaming experienced play and sales growth during the first quarter.”
