Theaters are closed. We’re stuck inside. In this quiet, video games have risen as THE form of entertainment, shattering records as the pandemic continues.
We’re months into the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s still no end in sight to the lockdowns and layoffs, particularly if you live somewhere like the United States, which has had especial trouble getting the crisis under control.
And what have people been doing during this downtime? Well, according to industry analyst The NPD Group, they’ve been playing video games.
In fact, sales of things video gaming have reached historic during the months of April, May and June of this year. Everything is up. Video games themselves raked in $10.2 billion, up 28% over the same time last year. Sales of video game accessories — headsets, controllers and the like — went up by 50% to $584. And folks have spent $848 million on hardware like the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, up 57%.
All told, the industry brought in a record $11.6 billion in just three months, up 30% overall from 2019. The movie theaters are still closed; what options do we have?
Especially popular games include stuff like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Warzone, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Final Fantasy VII: Remake, Grand Theft Auto V, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Minecraft, NBA 2K20, Pokémon Go and The Last of Us: Part II.
“Today, we have more video game players playing for more hours, while spending more in the process; and what gamers old and new are discovering is an industry that has a wide array of experiences available to them regardless of device and budget,” said analyst Mat Piscatella. “During the pandemic, many have turned to video games not only to keep them preoccupied, but also to stay in touch with family and friends. This has resulted in an acceleration of what were already established trends towards heightened video game player engagement. I don’t see any signs of this slowing down.”
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h/t SyFy Wire