Consumer video game spending in the U.S. totaled $3.6 billion across in July, according to the NPD Group, an increase of 32 percent compared to a year ago.
Year-to-date spending reached $26 billion — 21 percent higher than the same period in 2019 — with the strongest gains seen in digital content spending across console platforms. Digital content spending — including full game downloads, post-launch content and mobile purchases and subscriptions — increased by 41 percent.
Sucker Punch’s action-adventure game Ghost of Tsushima was July’s bestselling title and the fifth bestselling game of the year to date. Nintendo’s Paper Mario: The Origami King was the third bestselling game of July, setting a launch month sales record for any Paper Mario title.
Among the month’s other major releases, The Last of Us: Part II, the sequel to 2013’s original game, is July’s fourth bestselling title and the third bestselling game of the year.
On the hardware side, spending declined 2 percent to $166 million. Year-to-date spending reached $1.8 billion, which is a 22 percent increase from this time last year. The Nintendo Switch emerged, again, as the bestselling hardware platform of July and the year.
Accessory spending hit a July record of $170 million, fueled by gamepad and headset sales. Year-to-date accessory spending hit an all-time high of $1.3 billion, up 24 percent from a year ago. The Xbox Elite Series 2 wireless controller was the bestselling accessory of July and the year so far.
