Videogame sales sink 19% in May, to 27-month low
MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Videogame sales slid to a 27-month low in May, marking its biggest pullback in months after a period relatively devoid of new releases.
May's overall sales tumbled 19% to $3.68 billion from a year-ago $4.522 billion, according to NPD Group - with broad declines, but a particularly heavy drop in the largest component, videogame content.
That's the lowest total since February 2020, analyst Mat Piscatella noted - just before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic provided a giant one-off effect for companies like game makers with a stay-at-home focus.
April sales had fallen 8%, providing a brief turnaround in the decline curve (December sales had shown up down 1% from the prior year, while January dipped 2%; February sales slipped 6%; and March fell a full 15%).
The lack of new games drove content sales down 19% to $3.332 billion. Hardware sales resumed deceleration, falling 11% to $216 million, and accessory sales fell 7% to $131 million.
Year-to-date hardware sales of $1.759 billion have fallen 9% behind 2021's pace. For May, Nintendo Switch (OTCPK:NTDOY) reclaimed the top platform position in both unit terms and dollar sales terms; it still leads units sold year-to-date, while Xbox Series (NASDAQ:MSFT) leads 2022 dollar sales.
In accessories, year-to-date spending is now down 14% vs. the same period in 2021, to $875 million. For the month of May, the PS4 (NYSE:SONY) DualShock 4 Wireless Controller Black is again the best-selling accessory, while the year-to-date crown rests on the Xbox (MSFT) Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller.
In game content, only one new game appeared in the top 50 on the dollar sales chart - Evil Dead: The Game (Saber Interactive) landed at No. 4. Amid that slow schedule, multi-month success Elden Ring (OTCPK:NCBDY) regained the top spot from Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (WBD), which fell back to No. 2, just ahead of Nintendo Switch Sports (OTCPK:NTDOY).
After its 19% decline in May, videogame content spending year-to-date is 10% below 2021's pace, at $21.9 billion.
Rounding out the dollar-sales chart top 10 in games: No. 5, MLB: The Show 22; No. 6, Kirby and the Forgotten Land (OTCPK:NTDOY); No. 7, Call of Duty: Vanguard (ATVI); No. 8, Mario Kart 8 (OTCPK:NTDOY); No. 9, Gran Turismo 7 (SONY); and No. 10, PokÃ©mon Legends: Arceus (OTCPK:NTDOY).
Mobile games are still slowing at a linear rate, led again by a significant drop in spending through Google Play (of 23%), while App Store gaming spending is about 2.6% off May 2021. The top 10 earnings games combined saw a small tick up of 1.3%, though, Piscatella noted.
Related tickers: (OTCPK:NTDOY
+0.0%), (SONY
-1.3%), (MSFT
+0.7%), (HEAR
-1.5%), (LOGI
-0.2%), (CRSR
-0.8%), (EA
-1.3%), (ATVI
-0.4%), (TTWO
-1.6%), (WBD
+0.1%), (OTCPK:UBSFY
-1.2%), (OTCPK:NCBDY
-1.8%), (OTCPK:SQNNY
-5.0%), (OTCPK:CCOEY
-2.5%), (OTCPK:SGAMY
-1.9%), (SKLZ
-6.7%), (SE
+0.6%), (NTES
+2.9%), (OTCPK:TCEHY
+2.7%), (RBLX
-1.2%). Retail stock: (GME
+7.1%).
ETFs: (GAMR
-0.6%), (ESPO
-0.1%), (NERD
+1.0%)