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Second quarter US video game sales hit new high, fuelled by lockdowns
The COVID-19 threat and the resulting lockdown across the world has affected hundreds of millions, and has also caused videogame sales to skyrocket.
The NPD’s second quarter numbers from the US shows a 30 percent increase between April and June, with revenues reaching $11.6 billion. The bulk of that money was spent on software and subscriptions, but hardware sales also grew by 45 percent.
For example, Nintendo sold 5.7 million Switch units between April and June, while Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold 22.4 million copies since launch, making it one of the year’s strongest performers.
No slow down: “During the pandemic, many have turned to video games not only to keep them preoccupied, but also to stay in touch with family and friends,” said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. “This has resulted in an acceleration of what were already established trends toward heightened video game player engagement. I don’t see any signs of this slowing down.”
Holiday sales: Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are both launching later this year, and are expected to fuel even greater increases in software sales. Both next-gen consoles are expected to have strong backwards compatibility, so both Sony and Microsoft will be able to keep their back catalogue relevant for years to come.