The gaming industry is a booming one, and according to the NPD Group’s Games Market Dynamics report, it seems that total spending on video games in the US amounted to a whopping $4.6 billion in the first quarter of 2014 alone. Yes, you read that right, that’s much gamers in the US have spent in a matter of months.
Of course given that next-gen consoles such as the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 were released in November 2013, we can only assume that there is quite a rush out there for gamers who can’t wait to get their hands on the new consoles. In fact NPD found that hardware sales were the strongest facet of gaming, with total sales on hardware accounting for a quarter of all spending.
However there are some drops, such as spending on accessories, such as interactive gaming toys, like the Skylanders, and gamepads, all of which fell by 11% to $446 million. Physical format media also reportedly fell by 27% to $372 million, but unsurprisingly this is because games are now available digitally as well, allowing gamers to get their games straight away without having to leave their house.
NPD found that spending on digital formats actually rose by 4% year-over-year, so that’s a silver lining right there. NPD’s analyst, Liam Callahan, added that spending money on used games, digital games, DLC, and mobile have increased, and even subscription-based games saw a “modest increase” in revenue as well. That’s a lot of money being spent! What do you guys make of these numbers? Have you been spending your fair share on video games in the first quarter as well?
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