US games spending once again reaches record quarterly highs
By the end of Q2, one out of every three US owners of either a PS4 or Xbox One owned both systems
US games spending reached another record quarterly high for the period running from April to June, according to The NPD Group.
The data firm shared a blog post today announcing that overall consumer spending on games in the US for Q2 reached $11.6 billion, up 30% year-over-year and up 7% from Q1, where $10.9 billion in games spending marked a record Q1 as well.
Video game content made up $10.2 billion of the total, up 28% year-over-year, and was driven by sales of new physical content, digital console and PC content, mobile, and subscription spending.
Leading titles included Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Warzone, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Final Fantasy 7: Remake, Grand Theft Auto 5, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Minecraft, NBA 2K20, Pokémon Go and The Last of Us: Part 2.
As of June, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was the best-selling game of the year so far, followed by Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Last of Us: Part 2.
Hardware sales were up 57% year-over-year to $848 million with gains across all three current-generation consoles, and accessories spending was up 50% to $584 million for the quarter.
On Twitter, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella added that all three consoles individually grew by a minimum of 47% each when compared with a year ago -- a situation which, combined with inventory challenges, should help reduce PS4 and Xbox One inventory left sitting by the time the next generation launches this year.
Finally, Piscatella also added that by the end of Q2, one out of every three US owners of either a PS4 or Xbox One owned both systems, and at least 82% of US current-generation console owners also played mobile during the 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 Piscatella.
"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."