Overall total industry consumer spending on video gaming in the U.S. reached $19.5 billion in the first half of 2018 (Jan. to June), an increase of 40 percent compared to the same time period last year, according to the latest Games Market Dynamics: U.S. report from The NPD Group.
Video game content sales increased 43 percent to $16.9 billion. All content categories, which include full-game, DLC/MTX, subscriptions, and mobile saw increases, with mobile games experiencing the most growth.
The software titles with the most positive impact on dollar sales in the first half of the year include (listed alphabetically) Candy Crush, Far Cry 5, Fortnite, God of War, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Roblox.
Thanks to strong sales across all gaming platforms, particularly sales for Xbox One and plug and play devices such as Nintendo’s Super NES Classic Edition, spending on video game hardware hit a seven-year high, increasing 21 percent to $1.7 billion during the first half of the year; and accessory sales (excluding game cards) increased 41 percent, with headset/headphone sales nearly doubling over the same time period.
“I maintain an optimistic outlook for the remainder of 2018, thanks in part to the strong lineup of titles set to be released in the fourth quarter,” says NPD games industry analyst Mat Piscatella. “This, combined with continued strength in hardware and accessory spending, should result in double-digit annual percentage gains for the total market.”
