It’s harder than ever to get into the game.
The ongoing shortage of video game hardware, including Sony’s Playstation 5, Microsoft X|S, and the Nintendo Switch is fueling a ripple effect of sales declines at retail as consumers hold back on gaming purchases as they await fresh shipments of new hardware.
According to The NPD Group, consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories declined 2% in January when compared to a year ago, to $4.7 billion. The hardware shortage has been an issue since the current generation of consoles was introduced at the end of 2020 and even a double-digit increase in January sales for PS5 and Xbox consoles failed to offset declines in spending for everything that goes with them.
While sales for video game hardware itself spiked 22% compared to last January (the highest January hardware sales since 2009, NPD says), months of empty shelves fueled a 15% decline in accessory sales.
NPD video games industry analyst Mat Piscatella says that it’s important to note that these numbers “may represent that the year-over-year and month-over-month cooldown in spending experienced in January shouldn’t be taken as a sign of an overall downward trend, but rather the return of typical seasonality to the market” following a pandemic-fueled gaming boom. That boom saw sales of older consoles and accessories take off when they traditionally should’ve slowed on the cusp of a new hardware generation.
The top 10 console games for January were:
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Vanguard (Activision Blizzard)
- Monster Hunter: Rise (Capcom USA)
- Madden NFL 22 (Electronic Arts)
- God of War (2018) (Sony)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Sony)
- FIFA 22 (Electronic Arts)
- Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Extraction (Ubisoft)
- Battlefield 2042 (Electronic Arts)
