NPD estimates physical retail as 60% of total US market
Firm pins pre-owned, rental, digital and mobile at $2.6-$2.9 billion for first 6 months of 2010
NPD has released numbers indicating that the total US market is approximately 40 per cent larger than the physical retail sales it reports on each month.
The market research firm believes that US consumer spent an additional $2.6-$2.9 billion on videogames-related purchases outside of traditional retail channels, including pre-owned, rental, digital and mobile products.
In total the company believes the total spend for hardware, content and accessories will hit $9.5-$9.7 billion in total, with more detail expected in its forthcoming report, "Games Industry: Total Consumer Spend".
"While the new physical retail channel still generates the majority of industry sales, our expanded research coverage allows us to assess the total consumer spend across the growing number of ways to acquire and experience gaming, including social networks," said Anita Frazier, NPD analyst.
The company recently announced that it would stop detailing hardware and software sales numbers each month, and only release comparative charts instead.