Video Games Spending In The US Increased By 30% In Q1
A few days ago it was revealed that US spending on the video games sector rose 30% in the first quarter of 2021 to $14.92 billion compared to $11.67 billion a year earlier.
It is an exciting time for the gaming industry, which is expected to reach nearly $300 billion over the next five years, and it does not look like it will eclipse a global pandemic. At a time when the global semiconductor shortage is disrupting the production schedule for new consoles, the strength of the industry is being underlined. The question remains whether or not it can sustain the 2020 pandemic – driven by growth – but so far, things are looking rosy. It is a long-term purchase, where no one buys a PS5 and puts it aside until the end of the pandemics.
The Market Intelligence Report predicts that the gaming console industry will grow by about 18% per year between 2021 and 2026.
According to a recent report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the amount of time consumers spend gaming is also increasing.
American consumers spent $11.6 billion on games in the first quarter of 2020, a 30 percent increase from the same period last year, the data research firm said. The video game industry has broken sales records, but both Sony and Microsoft have struggled to keep up with the demand for controllers. In addition, both launched a new generation of console products in the fourth quarter of last year, which are still popular.
Video game content revenue rose 43% to $16.9 billion in the first quarter of 2021, a category that includes games such as Star Wars Battlefront II, Halo 5: Guardians, and Fortnite. This included $1.5 billion from the video game industry overall and $2.4 billion for video games in general.
Geographically, 49% of video game revenues came from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan. Video games are gradually becoming a staple of the world’s largest economy, and more and more video games are taking up discretionary spending. Mobile gaming continues to drive mobile gaming and attract new users. Mobile games such as Fortnite, Star Wars Battlefront II, Halo 5: Guardians, and Battle Royale are all in the top 10. After debuting in April, Battle Royale launched in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
We expect video game manufacturers to continue to refine their products and innovate in several areas by 2021. Omni-channel fulfillment will be more targeted at the merchants in the market as the COVID 19 pandemic continues to disrupt the way consumers shop.
GameStop Inc., the world’s largest video game retailer, reported that its first fiscal quarter, which ended May 2, compared with the comparable quarter a year earlier. The retailer reported that global e-commerce sales surged 519%, including an 8% increase in the six weeks following the coronavirus-related closure of stores and a 2% increase in online sales.
GameStop also reported that sales had a good start in the second quarter, with e-commerce sales up 1,400% year-on-year in May. Last of Us 2, released at the end of the second quarter and making June a record month for sales, also topped the quarter’s sales statistics.
New physical game sales rose in double digits, and digital content sales rose by a much higher percentage, Piscatella added. He also said that console players accounted for a lot of mobile spending, with more than half of U.S. players who own a Switch, Xbox One, or PS4 also playing mobile games.
It seems that Americans who were forced to work from home or on their own during COVID-19, the coronavirus pandemic, spent much of their time playing video games. This makes sense when you look at the pandemics that keep people at home and leave little choice but to get a controller.
Use of game data on the Verizon network soared last week as many began taking isolation measures, according to company data.
The use of virtual private networks (VPN) increased by 34 percent, while web traffic increased by 20 percent and video bandwidth usage by 12 percent. Overall, adjusted net income in the first quarter rose 69 percent to $3 billion from the same period last year, when the effects of the pandemic began, though Shell said what it called adjusted earnings rose 13 percent from $2.2 billion, or $1.5 billion. A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that gaming is a popular way for many to save themselves hours.
