A report from the NPD Group, led by industry analyst Mat Piscatella, shows that U.S. consumers spent $4.1 billion on video game content, hardware and accessories in September 2022, down 4 percent compared to the same period last year. The hardware segment performed best this month.
In the group’s previous months of reporting, hardware growth was sluggish due to supply issues. Now, sales in the hardware segment are up 19 percent from a year ago. This is the third consecutive month of double-digit percentage growth in the segment. Driving the hardware growth was the improved availability of the PlayStation 5, which ranked No. 1 in both unit sales and dollar sales in September. The second highest-selling unit on the platform for the month was the Nintendo Switch, while the Xbox series ranked second in dollar sales, according to the NPD Group.
In terms of game content spending, the September report noted a showing of $3.4 billion, down 7 percent compared to the same month last year. Content performance was driven by double-digit percentage growth in non-mobile video game subscription spending, which was offset by declines in other content areas. The top-selling games for the month were FIFA 23, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle, The Last of Us: Part I, NBA 2K23, Splatoon 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection”.
The NPD Group reported that accessories spending was flat compared to a year ago, at $174 million. This is the first month since October 2021 that accessory spending did not show a year-over-year decline. An increase in spending on gamepads in September offset a decline in headphones/headsets. The top-selling accessory in September in both unit and dollar sales was the Carbon Black Edition Xbox Wireless Controller.
