During the first quarter of 2020, United States consumer spending on video game products reached the highest total in U.S. history, according to The NPD Group. The NPD Group calls this year's first quarter a record, driven by digital content spending across console, mobile and PC platforms - reaching $10.86 billion in total from January to March. This is an increase of 9% compared to the same period of time for last year, according to the report. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-best-selling-video-games-of-all-time&captions=true"] "Sales of video game content reached $9.58 billion in the first quarter, up 11% when compared to a year ago," The NPD Group reports. "Gains were seen across digital console and PC content, mobile and subscription spending, as well as across hardware and accessories categories." Games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which recently broke its own record after becoming the fastest-selling Switch game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, DOOM Eternal, and Grand Theft Auto V helped consumer spending break this record as they were all among the best-performing titles of this year's first quarter. Other notable titles on that list include Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Fortnite, Minecraft, MLB The Show 20, and NBA 2K20. "Video games have brought comfort and connection to millions during this challenging time," NPD Group video game industry analyst Mat Piscatella said. "As people have stayed home more, they've utilized gaming not only as a diversion and an escape, but also as a means of staying connected with family and friends. Whether it was on console or mobile, PC or virtual reality, gaming experienced play and sales growth during the first quarter." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/02/01/the-best-selling-game-thats-hard-to-go-back-to"] The challenging time Piscatella is referring to is, of course, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some ways to help and stay safe during the pandemic. The NPD Group reports that a strong growth in sales of Nintendo Switch hardware and software helped to offset the declines across other hardware platforms, "leading the overall video game hardware market to increase 2% in the quarter to $773 million." Video game accessories like gamepads, headsets, and cases also saw an increase in sales during this quarter with an increase of 1% in the first quarter. Those sales reached $503 million. You can read more about how March of this year was a record-breaking month for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo is attempting to boost Switch output to meed its growing demand after months like March too. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/q1-2020-video-game-spending-record
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