Nintendo's 'Zelda' pushes videogame sales to healthy rebound in May
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U.S. videogame sales rebounded with a strong year-over-year gain in May, with no small thanks due to a new game from a venerable Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) franchise.
Overall sales rose 12% to $4.118B from last May's $3.665B, according to research group Circana. The solid gain came after a couple of months of year-over-year declines -- and on a year-to-date basis, the double-digit gain brought 2023's industry sales back to a flat pace vs. 2022 over the same five-month period.
Hardware sales are still rolling, keeping up a strong pace since some supply-chain concerns eased: They rose 56% year-over-year, to $338M. Accessory sales rose 14%, to $159M.
But game content (which makes up the bulk of the industry's dollar sales) jumped 9%, or by more than $300M, to land at $3.622B for May.
Year-to-date, content sales are still 2% lower than the same period in 2022, while hardware sales are up 23% over that span and accessory sales up 3%.
It was the highest May for videogame hardware spending since 2008, analyst Mat Piscatella noted, adding that double-digit growth for the combined sales of PlayStation 5 (NYSE:SONY) and Nintendo Switch (OTCPK:NTDOY) made up for declines on other platforms. (PS5 sales actually more than doubled for the month year-over-year, he said -- but Switch was the month's platform leader in dollar and unit terms.)
In accessories, the best-seller in dollar terms was the PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Wireless Controller Black (SONY), while The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Series 1 Amiibo Character Pack (OTCPK:NTDOY) sold the most units.
And game content got a big lift from the May debut of The Legenda of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the newest entry in the game series that Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) launched in 1986. It opened in the top spot and immediately became the year's No. 2 best-seller, even though Nintendo only supplied physical sales rather than including digital.
Hogwarts Legacy (NASDAQ:WBD) jumped back up from the No. 6 spot to serve as May's second-best seller, just ahead of April's leader, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (EA).
The rest of the top 10 held no other debuts: No. 4, Dead Island 2 (OTCPK:EBCRY); No. 5, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (ATVI); No. 6, MLB: The Show 23; No. 7, FIFA 23 (EA); No. 8, Mario Kart 8 (OTCPK:NTDOY); No. 9, Resident Evil 4 (OTCPK:CCOEY); and No. 10, Far Cry 6 (OTCPK:UBSFY).
In mobile game spending, trends were down slightly compared to April, according to Sensor Tower, which added that PokÃ©mon Go (OTCPK:NTDOY) returned to the top 10 despite its recent price hikes.
The top 10 mobile games by U.S. spending: Candy Crush Saga (ATVI), Roblox (RBLX), Royal Match, Gardenscapes, Homescapes, Clash of Clans, Jackpot Party - Casino Slots, Honkai: Star Rail, PokÃ©mon Go (OTCPK:NTDOY), and Evony.
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