NCBDY - Videogame sales fall again in July but track toward 2020 levels
Videogame sales continued a year-over-year decline in July - but at a moderating rate, and the spending tracked back toward near 2020 levels, with some help from increased console outlays.
Overall sales fell 9% year-over-year to $4.177B, according to NPD Group, mirroring the 10% fall in its largest component: game content sales (which dropped to $3.668B from a year-ago $4.06B).
June's overall sales had fallen 11% overall, and May sales had tumbled 19% to a 27-month low . On a year-to-date basis, overall spending is down 10%, to $30.458B; gains in subscription spending are being offset by the overall decline in game sales.
In July, accessory spending fell 22% to $148M, while a hardware space that saw some inventory relief also saw its spending jump 12% from the prior July, to $362M.
Year-to-date, content spending is down 10% to $26.76B; accessory spending is down 15%, to $1.2B; and hardware spending is down 7%, to $2.494B.
In hardware, PlayStation 5 ( NYSE: SONY ) was the dollar spending leader for July (as well as 2022 to date), while Nintendo Switch ( OTCPK:NTDOY ) sold the most units across both those spans.
The best-selling accessory for July was the PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller Midnight Black ( SONY ), while the YTD accessory leader is the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller ( NASDAQ: MSFT ).
Turning to the games themselves, it was Warner Bros. Discovery's ( NASDAQ: WBD ) month: The company laid claim to two of the top three sellers in July, joining 2022's biggest hit at the top of the list.
Free-to-play brawling game MultiVersus ( WBD ), relying on the ability to fight with various Warner Bros. characters, topped all dollar sales, led by sales of the game's Founder's Packs (at $40, $60 and $100 levels). It came in ahead of the year-to-date leader Elden Ring ( OTCPK:NCBDY ), sitting at No. 2.
And the third-best seller was also a WBD title, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, just ahead of a debut at No. 4 by Xenoblade Chronicles 3 ( OTCPK:NTDOY ).
Rounding out the dollar-sales chart top 10 in games: No. 5, Call of Duty: Vanguard ( ATVI ); No. 6, MLB: The Show 22; No. 7, Mario Kart 8 ( OTCPK:NTDOY ); No. 8, Digimon Survive ( OTCPK:NCBDY ); No. 9, Minecraft; and No. 10, F1 22 ( EA ).
Mobile game spending - once hot in the summertime, analyst Mat Piscatella notes - has become one of the biggest drags on game outlays, and July brought its biggest year-over-year drop so far in 2022.
The top 10 mobile games by U.S. spending: Candy Crush Saga ( ATVI ), Roblox ( RBLX ), Coin Master, Pokémon GO ( OTCPK:NTDOY ), Evony: The King's Return, Royal Match, Bingo Blitz ( PLTK ), Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle ( OTCPK:NCBDY ), Jackpot Party, and Homescapes.
Related tickers: OTCPK:NTDOY , SONY , MSFT , HEAR , LOGI , CRSR , EA , ATVI , TTWO , WBD , OTCPK:UBSFY , OTCPK:NCBDY , OTCPK:SQNNY , OTCPK:CCOEY , OTCPK:SGAMY , SKLZ , SE , NTES , OTCPK:TCEHY , RBLX . Retail stock: GME .
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Videogame sales fall again in July, but track toward 2020 levels