Videogame sales dip in March on tough comparison, with fewer new games out
The Good Brigade
Videogame sales slipped 5% year-over-year in March, a victim of a tough comparison against the same month a year ago, when eight new games had juiced content revenues.
Overall sales slid to $4.633B from last March's $4.875B, according to research group Circana.
That came amid another strong month in the videogame hardware rebound; sales in that area rose 10% to $566M, the second-best total for hardware sales in a March month ever, analyst Mat Piscatella noted. PlayStation 5 (NYSE:SONY) was again the best-selling platform in both unit and dollar terms, and it was also best on those measures on a year-to-date basis.
For March, second place in dollar terms was the Xbox Series (NASDAQ:MSFT), while Nintendo's Switch (OTCPK:NTDOY) was second-best in units sold.
On a time-aligned basis, over 29 months at market, the PS5 (SONY) has outsold the previous-generation PS4, Piscatella noted.
And accessories sales ticked up 1%, to $239M. The best-selling segment was gamepads, and the best of those was the PlayStation 5 DuelSense Edge Wireless Controller Black (SONY).
As for the key component in the total measure -- videogame content across platforms -- March 2022 had benefited from the second month of hit Elden Ring, as well as no fewer than eight new releases hitting the top 16.
That made for a tough comparison this March, where content sales slid 7% year-over-year to $3.827B.
"Growth in non-mobile subscription as well as digital add-on console content spending was offset by declines across premium games, PC add-on content and mobile," Piscatella said.
The month did see strong showings from a pair of new games. Resident Evil 4 (OTCPK:CCOEY) debuted atop the dollar-sales chart, displacing last month's leader, Hogwarts Legacy (NASDAQ:WBD). And MLB: The Show 23 launched in the No. 3 spot, just one space ahead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (ATVI).
Rounding out the top 10 games: No. 5. The Last of Us: Part I (SONY); No. 6, FIFA 23 (EA); No. 7, new entry WWE 2K23 (TTWO); No. 8, Elden Ring (OTCPK:NCBDY); No. 9, Madden NFL 23 (EA); and No. 10, Mario Kart 8 (OTCPK:NTDOY).
Mobile game spending that's notably been weak in recent months got stronger, according to Sensor Tower, with casual games leading the way as "hypercasual games look beyond advertising to more core mechanics to monetize sustainably," the firm said.
The top 10 mobile games by U.S. spending: Candy Crush Saga (ATVI), Roblox (RBLX), Royal Match, Coin Master, PokÃ©mon Go (OTCPK:NTDOY), Township, Gardenscapes, Bingo Blitz (PLTK), Evony, 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, OTCPK:KONMY, OTCPK:NEXOY, SKLZ, SE, NTES, OTCPK:TCEHY, RBLX. Retail stock: GME.
ETFs: GAMR, ESPO, NERD