US Videogame Sales Surge in March as Lockdown Keeps People Indoors

Cumulative gaming sales in US jumped 35 percent to $1.6 billion (roughly Rs. 12,200 crores) last month from a year earlier.

By Reuters | Updated: 22 April 2020 16:18 IST

US Videogame Sales Surge in March as Lockdown Keeps People Indoors

Gaming has seen a major boost due to the global coronavirus-led lockdown

Highlights

Sale of gaming hardware, software and accessories in US jumped 35 percent
This is the highest number since March 2008, when sales grew 52 percent
Nintendo Switch hardware sales more than doubled

Videogame sales in March hit their highest in over a decade, as Americans turned to games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare because of lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Sales of gaming hardware, software, and accessories in the United States jumped 35 percent to $1.6 billion (roughly Rs. 12,200 crores) last month from a year earlier, according to data from research firm NPD.

The sales and growth are the highest for the month since March 2008, when sales grew over 52 percent to $1.8 billion (roughly Rs. 13,790 crores), NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said.

Nintendo's life-simulation title Animal Crossing: New Horizons, launched last month, topped NPD's best-selling list, followed by Activision Blizzard's battle blockbuster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

As the coronavirus shut down the country and forced millions inside their homes, certain businesses including gaming, online streaming and video conferencing have witnessed a boost in user engagement.

Analysts have expected gaming sales to benefit in the near-term from the stay-at-home orders.

NBA 2K20 from Take-Two Interactive Software and Sony's baseball simulation game "MLB: The Show 20" were also among the most sold games, the data showed.

Sales of gaming consoles Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch rose 63 percent to $461 million (roughly Rs. 3,500 crores) in March from a year earlier. Nintendo Switch hardware sales more than doubled.

New-generation consoles, Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Sony's PlayStation 5, are expected to come out at the end of the year.

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