Video game spending soared highest in the United States in 2020, totaling $1.2 billion in June, NPD Group reports. This makes for the largest expenditure for video game-related products in the same period since 2009.
While June makes for the largest chunk of the spending, the first half of 2020 has managed to generate a total of $6.6 billion through combined sales on software, hardware, accessories, and cards.
In comparison to the same period as last year, the data shows an increase of 19% in sales. The total expenses accrued is also relatively the highest for the year-to-date period since 2010.
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The trend as it appears is induced by the onset of the coronavirus crisis which saw consumer spending directed at indoor entertainment, fueled also by the timely releases of triple-A titles, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons, The Last of Us Part 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, etc.
As for the hardware department, the Nintendo Switch and the Xbox Elite Series 2 wireless controller saw highest demand in light of the event.