Gaming as a business is bigger than ever. That was true before the pandemic, but surprisingly, it’s even more evident now. In a recent article, The NPD group reported the highest quarter in US gaming-related spending ever. The company reports a 30% growth in revenue from the same quarter last year, and a 7% growth from the previous quarter.
Here’s an excerpt from their report:
“Sales of video game content reached $10.2 billion in the second quarter, up 28 percent when compared to a year ago. Gains were seen across new physical content, digital console and PC content, mobile and subscription spending. Strong growth across Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One led to an overall hardware category sales increase of 57% to $848 million. Sales of video game accessories including gamepads, headsets, steering wheels and other peripherals increased 50% to $584 million.”
Of note, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Pokémon GO were listed as some of the highest performers. It was also stated in the article that gaming has grown beyond a mere hobby for many during the quarantine and become more of a means to connect with friends and family. We reported on similar trends of people using games to facilitate connectedness, particularly through Animal Crossing, just last week.
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Written by Marcus Ramirez
A writer and dreamer who loves all things tropical, bright, colorful, and shiny. Marcus is obsessed with Kingdom Hearts and patiently awaits its triumphant return to Nintendo hardware. He has a (totally real) court order that requires him to always have a 3DS or Switch on his person when leaving the house for more than a few hours.
