US games spending has hit yet another quarterly in Q2 2020 as it generated $11.6 billion, a rise of 30 per cent year-on-year.
As reported in a blog post by research firm The NPD Group, revenue had increased by seven per cent quarter-on-quarter. The previous quarter – Q1 2020 – was also record-breaking as it hit $10.9 billion.
The majority of earnings came from video game content across console, PC, mobile and subscriptions, which was up 28 per cent year-on-year as it hit $10.2 billion. In particular, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe and Pokemon Go performed well. The latter of those is closing in on $4 billion in lifetime revenue.
Hardware and accessories
Moreover, thanks to an impressive showing by Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One, hardware sales were up by a stagger 57 per cent year-on-year, generating a total of $848 million. Meanwhile, peripherals and accessories made $584 million, an increase of 50 per cent year-on-year.
“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 The NDP Group games industry analyst Mat 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.”
