Hardware gains drive November videogame sales to first growth in a year
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Videogame sales marked their first industrywide year-over-year gain in more than a year in November, logging a 3% increase as holiday shopping started to bring sharp rebounds in consoles and accessories.
Overall sales in November rose from the previous November to $6.286B, according to NPD Group. Sales in October had been flat year-over-year, and prior to that had seen 11 straight months of declines from the previous period.
And while videogame content sales reversed back to a decline, falling 5% from the previous November (to $4.742B), hardware sales jumped 45% to $1.254B, led by Sony's (NYSE:SONY) PlayStation 5, the month's best-seller in unit and dollar terms, ahead of Nintendo's Switch (OTCPK:NTDOY).
Accessory sales also rose, by 10% to $289M, pushed by double-digit percentage gains both in gamepads and in headset/headphones, analyst Mat Piscatella notes. The best-selling accessory of November was the PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller Galactic Purple.
Game content was lifted by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (NASDAQ:ATVI) repeating atop the dollar sales chart, and unsurprisingly becoming 2022's best seller along the way, passing Elden Ring (OTCPK:NCBDY). December's sales should help cement the latest CoD into its usual spot as the annual top seller. (For the latest on Microsoft's $69B deal to buy Activision Blizzard - much of which hinges on its planned treatment of CoD - check here.)
The shooter was followed in November by three new releases - God of War: Ragnarok (SONY) at No. 2; Pokemon: Scarlet/Violet (OTCPK:NTDOY) at No. 3; and Sonic Frontiers (OTCPK:SGAMY) at No. 4.
Rounding out the content top 10 for November: No. 5, Madden NFL 23 (EA); No. 6, FIFA 23 (EA); No. 7, NBA 2K23 (TTWO); No. 8, Gotham Knights (WBD); No. 9, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (SONY); and No. 10, Mario Party Superstars (OTCPK:NTDOY).
Spending on mobile games continued to struggle, Sensor Tower notes, though casino games saw a continued surge even as role-playing games and shooters kept faltering. Mobile spending for Thanksgiving/Black Friday was down 5% from the previous year, and down 1% from 2020.
The top 10 mobile games in spending for November: Candy Crush Saga (ATVI), Roblox (RBLX), Royal Match, Coin Master, Clash of Clans, Evony, PokÃ©mon Go (OTCPK:NTDOY), Township, Jackpot Party - Casino Slots, and Bingo Blitz (PLTK).
Related tickers: OTCPK:NTDOY, SONY, NASDAQ:MSFT, HEAR, LOGI, CRSR, EA, ATVI, TTWO, WBD, OTCPK:UBSFY, OTCPK:NCBDY, OTCPK:SQNNY, OTCPK:CCOEY, OTCPK:SGAMY, OTCPK:KNMCY, SKLZ, SE, NTES, OTCPK:TCEHY, RBLX. Retail stock: GME.
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