US video game sales hit historic high

“Video Games have brought comfort and connection to millions during this challenging time,” says Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group on the Insight pages of Shop! HQ.

Champions

Sales of video game content reached $9.58 billion in the first quarter, up 11% when compared to a year ago. Gains were seen across digital console and PC content, mobile and subscription spending, as well as across hardware and accessories categories.

Games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, DOOM Eternal, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, MLB The Show 20 and NBA 2K20 were among the best-performing titles of the first quarter.

These games are played by tens of millions of gamers worldwide every month. Candy Crush remained the most lucrative game in the U.S. application marketplace even during the coronavirus.

Strong growth in sales of Nintendo Switch hardware and software helped to offset declines across other hardware platforms, leading the overall video game hardware market to increase 2% in the quarter, to $773 million. Sales of video game accessories, including gamepads, headsets, cases, and other peripherals increased 1% in the first quarter, reaching $503 million.

Diversion and escape

Video Games have brought comfort and connection to millions during this challenging time,” says Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group. “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.”

80% of Gamers Regularly Eat or Drink While Playing

Based ont he data of Newzoo market research there are  2.7 billion gamers worldwide, mainly int he age group of 10-35. They will spend $159.3 billion on games in 2020.

Across all three observed regions (North America, APAC, Western Europe), the vast majority (80%) of gamers consume food or drinks regularly while playing. Salty snacks, carbonated soft drinks and sweet snacks are the most popular among them, although the proportions vary by gender, age group and region. Some of the younger people (15-26%) drinks energy drinks and middle-aged people (15-18%) drinks beer.