Veronika Mikhailova

NPD: in March, the US gaming market earned a record $1.59 billion

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March was a great month for the American video game market. Last month, players in the United States spent $1.59 billion. This is a record of the last 12 years.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons
A new report on the local market was prepared by analysts of The NPD Group.

General market figures

  • Total turnover — $1.59 million (increased by 35% year-on-year).
  • Video game sales — $739 million (increased by 34% year-on-year).
  • Sales of iron — $461 million (increased by 63% year-on-year).
  • Accessory sales — $397 million (increased by 12% year-on-year).

For the first time since the beginning of the year, all market segments in the USA show an increase. Prior to that, sales of hardware and video games were steadily falling, which seriously affected turnover. The same situation was observed almost all of 2019.

According to analysts, the driver of this financial leap was:

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Switch — first of all;
  • other high-profile releases;
  • the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated mass quarantine.

It should also be noted that in total, in January-March, the industry in the country earned $ 3 billion. This is 4% lower than in the same period of 2019.

Game Sales

The video game segment experienced its best March since 2011.

Resident Evil 3 and DOOM Eternal performed well, but the new Animal Crossing stood out especially. Now it is the second best—selling game of this year and the third of the best launches in the history of Nintendo. Her release sales were higher than any Mario or The Legend of Zelda.

The second number in the chart is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which is also the bestseller of the year at the moment. Thanks to the release of Call of Duty: Warzone, the March sales of Modern Warfare became a record of the decade for the entire series.

Top 10 best-selling games in March

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (excluding digital sales)
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
3. MLB: The Show 20
4. Resident Evil 3 Remake
5. NBA 2K20
6. DOOM Eternal (excluding digital sales)
7. Persona 5: Royal
8. GTA V
9. Borderlands 3
10. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (excluding digital sales)

Console Sales

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have gained a second wind at the end of the life cycle. Their sales in units rose by 25% year-on-year.

As for the Nintendo Switch, its sales have more than doubled since March 2019. This is due to both Animal Crossing and quarantine. As a result, there was a shortage of these consoles in the USA, as we reported earlier.

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