According to a recent report from the analytics firm Circana, the US video game market showed a noticeable decline in July. Consumer spending on consoles and new releases dropped significantly, and hardware sales figures approached the lows of the 2020 pandemic period.
Decline in Console and Physical Media Sales
Compared to July of last year, spending on gaming hardware shrank by 29%. All console platforms recorded a decline in sales volume. While in 2020 a similar situation was caused by chip shortages and an absence of consoles on store shelves, analysts now cite general price increases and consumer caution as the primary factors.
Sales of physical game copies also hit an all-time low for the entire tracking period since 1995. At the same time, the market distribution for cartridges and discs remains notable:
- 63% of all physical game spending year-to-date was accounted for by the Nintendo platform;
- 32% was generated by PlayStation consoles.
Hits of the Month and Subscription Growth
Total spending on video games, hardware, and accessories decreased by 10% in July. The only sector that showed growth (+6%) was subscription services. Players increasingly prefer proven live-service games and their existing libraries over buying new releases.
The chart of the most popular July releases included re-releases of Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo: Campaign Evolved, as well as new titles such as Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced and Splatoon Raiders.
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