TTWO - Videogame sales fall again in April despite more console gains
2023-05-20 10:00:00 ET
U.S. videogame sales fell year-over-year for the second straight month in April, as a broad content decline more than offset more gains in console sales.
Overall sales dipped 5% to $4.123B from last March's $4.32B, according to research group Circana.
On a year-to-date basis, sales are down 2% so far in 2023 from the same period in 2022, to $17.71B.
But hardware sales kept up a string of gains that started after some post-pandemic relief in the supply chain -- rising 7% from the prior April to $367M (the best April in that category since April 2020, analyst Mat Piscatella noted).
PlayStation 5 ( NYSE: SONY ) was again the best-selling platform in dollar terms, while Nintendo Switch ( OTCPK:NTDOY ) was the leader in unit sales. Year-to-date, PlayStation 5 leads in both dollar and unit terms. And on a year-to-date basis, hardware sales are up 18% to $1.82B.
Accessories spending was flat year-over-year at $158M; the PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Wireless Controller Black held on as top seller for the month and for 2023 as a whole. Year-to-date, accessories spending is up 1% to $779M.
It was game content (by far the biggest component) that once again disappointed, falling 6% to $3.598B, and with broad declines. All segments of content spending fell from the previous April except for one: nonmobile subscription content, which ticked up 2%.
That came despite two new-release best-sellers for the month. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor ( NASDAQ: EA ) debuted atop the April dollar-sales chart despite only selling for a couple of days in April; it became 2023's fourth-best seller in that short span.
It finished just ahead of Dead Island 2 ( OTC:EBCRY ), which debuted as April's second-best seller and took a year-to-date spot of sixth best.
Rounding out the top 10 were No. 3, MLB: The Show 23 ; No. 4, Resident Evil 4 ( OTCPK:CCOEY ); No. 5, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II ( ATVI ); No. 6, Hogwarts Legacy ( WBD ); No. 7, PGA Tour ( EA ); No. 8, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection ( OTCPK:CCOEY ); No. 9, FIFA 23 ( EA ); and No. 10, Mario Kart 8 ( OTCPK:NTDOY ).
In mobile game spending, trends were relatively stable month-over-month, according to Sensor Tower, but the firm noted Pokémon Go ( OTCPK:NTDOY ) dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in a year after a controversial decision to boost the price of some in-app purchases.
The top 10 mobile games by U.S. spending: Candy Crush Saga ( ATVI ), Roblox ( RBLX ), Royal Match, Coin Master, Gardenscapes, Evony, Township, Jackpot Party, Homescapes, and Bingo Blitz ( PLTK ).
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Videogame sales fall again in April despite more console gains