Business

Video game sales fall for 11th straight month in September (NASDAQ: MSFT)


Young men playing video games sitting with female friends in the living room

The Good Brigade / DigitalVision via Getty Images

Video game sales fell year-on-year for the 11th straight month in September – still hard to compare with strong gains in 2021 – but again, the trajectory continues to improve as the important holiday shopping season approaches.

Overall, sales fell 4% from the previous September, to $4.073 billion, according to NPD Group. That was again boosted by the largest category, game content sales, where the number dropped 7% to $3.408 billion.

But that was mitigated by a continued recovery in hardware, aided by new console availability – hardware sales grew 19% year-over-year, to $490 million – and accessory sales were flat at $174 million.

In August, overall sales were 5% decrease compared to the same period last year; In July, 9%; and in June 11%.

The figures mean that with nine months into 2022, overall video game sales as of now are down 8% from 2021, at $38.4 billion – with content down 9%, hardware 1% and accessories 13%.

PlayStation 5 Improvements (NYSE:SONY) availability has driven hardware, noted analyst Mat Piscatella. PS5 is the best in terms of units and dollar terms for September; Nintendo Switch (OTCPK: NTDOY) came in second in unit sales, while the Xbox Series (NASDAQ:MSFT) came in second in terms of dollars.

And that’s the first month accessory sales haven’t fallen since October 2021, thanks to an increase in spending on gamepads; September’s best-selling accessory in units and dollars was the Xbox Carbon Black Wireless Controller (MSFT).

Moving on to games: It’s been a month for new releases, with six new games coming out of the eight best-selling games. Those people are led by the new number 1 FIFA 23, Latest – and finally – FIFA branded soccer title from Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA). It replaced EA’s one title: last month’s leader, Madden NFL 23 (EA).

And keeping up with the sports game release schedule is 3rd place, NBA 2K23 (TTWO), just before three other new releases: Splatoon 3 (OTCPK: NTDOY); Our Last: Part I (SONY); and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection (OTCPK: KNMCY).

Rounding up top 10 sales: number 7, Saints Row (Conglomerate); 8, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (OTCPK: NCBDY); Number 9, Elden Ring (OTCPK: NCBDY); and number 10, Mario Kart 8 (OTCPK: NTDOY).

Spending on mobile games continues to decline, down 5% y/y and making up a smaller share of mobile app spending (games fell to 54% of the total). spending compared with 60% a year ago, according to Sensor Tower). New game installs are plummeting even when seasonality is taken into account, down 3% year-on-year and at their lowest level since before February 2019.

Related codes: OTCPK: NTDOY, SONY, MSFT, TO LISTEN, LOGI, CRSR, EA, ATVI, TTWO, WBD, OTCPK: UBSFY, OTCPK: NCBDY, OTCPK: SQNNY, OTCPK: CCOEY, OTCPK: SGAMY, OTCPK: KNMCY, SKLZ, SE, NTES, OTCPK: TCEHY, RBLX. Retail warehouse: GME.

ETFs: GAMR, ESPO, NERD

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button