NPD report highlights boom in hardware and content 

 

Consumer spending on video gaming in the US has continued to break records, reaching US$11.2 billion in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 24 per cent compared to the same time period last year.

 

According to the latest 2020 US Games Market Dynamics report from The NPD Group, increases were seen across new physical software, digital console and PC content, mobile and subscription spending, as well as across hardware and accessories categories. 

 

The most significant gains were in mobile and subscription spending, full-game downloads for consoles and portables, and video game accessories. Hardware and accessories experienced double-digit percentage gains, increasing 16 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.

 

Games such as Among Us, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Fortnite, Ghost of Tsushima, Madden NFL 21, Marvel’s Avengers, Minecraft, NBA 2K21, Paper Mario: The Origami King, Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 were among the best-performing titles of the third quarter.

 

“We continue to see more video game players, playing for more hours, across more devices,” Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group., said. 

 

“We can anticipate another record-breaking quarter in Q4, in large part due to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles entering the market with one of the fastest-selling consoles in U.S. history, the Nintendo Switch,” he said.