It’s the season to Spring into a new video game sales report.
Yup, the jokes really bloom around these parts and can blossom into something special.
Anyways, I’m here to cover the latest U.S. games industry spending report. For a bit of background, industry tracking firm The NPD Group merged with Information Resources, Inc (IRI) last year. Now, the two firms have rebranded into: Circana.
Fun new name, same sales data!
Within this announcement, Circana shared that consumer spending here in the States is back to growth after a lackluster January. In fact, February’s 6% growth rate was the best result since October 2021’s 13% increase amidst certain macro elements easing and console inventories returning to retail.
Total monthly spend reached $4.6 billion, boosted mainly by the massive launch of Hogwarts Legacy and ongoing PlayStation 5 stock meeting its consistent demand. All three primary categories of Content, Hardware and Accessories showed gains last month, the latter two in double-digit territory.
For Content, while mobile spending continued to lag, the premium side proved healthy especially as it relates to new releases. There were seven new launches among the Top 20 best-sellers, including four within the Top 10. Earning the top spot was Hogwarts Legacy, published by Warner Bros.
Note: Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling wasn’t directly involved in making Hogwarts Legacy, though she undoubtedly benefits from it financially. I want to make it utterly clear that trans rights are human rights, and I think her transphobic comments are despicable.
PlayStation 5 continued to drive an upward trajectory within the Hardware segment, which saw spending jump nearly 70% in February. Sony’s latest was the best-selling console by both units and revenue. Even further, it sold more units last month than any prior individual PlayStation platform. Previously, the PlayStation 2 held this record back in 2005.
“The February results, and really those going back to October of last year, show a stabilization of trends, both in purchasing and engagement,” said Circana’s Mat Piscatella on Twitter. “We’re well into the ‘new normal’ and are no longer subject, for now, to the wild swings we’d seen in the market starting in March 2020.”
Here’s a deeper dive into the data incoming!
United States Games Industry Sales (January 29th – February 25th, 2023)
Consumers in the U.S. spent upwards of $4.6 billion on gaming last month, 6% higher than this time last year. That means year-to-date is trending up almost 1% to $8.95 billion.
Slowness in mobile was offset by digital strength on both console and PC, plus subscription spending on non-mobile platforms went up. Alongside this, the launch of Sony’s PlayStation VR2 led to higher sales within peripherals, even if there’s limited detail on its actual impact.
Digging into the report, Content category spending in February rose 1% to $3.89 billion, making up 85% of the broader total. Last year, it contributed 88%. This means for 2023 right now, spending is down a modest 2% to $7.68 billion.
Circana didn’t share much in the way of specifics on mobile, other than to highlight that it declined during the month. According to data partner Sensor Tower, the best performing mobile titles were Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, Royal Match, Pokémon Go and Coin Master. In particular, Pokémon Go had a resurgence, seeing in-game spend up 23% compared to January, indicating a 10% increase year-on-year, as it reentered the Top 5 biggest monthly earners.
Within premium software, the aforementioned Hogwarts Legacy concocted a recipe for success, outselling all other titles during its debut month thus securing the top spot of 2023 so far. The ever-present Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Dead Space, January’s winner, rounded out the Top 3 respectively. After a couple sports titles in Madden NFL 23 and FIFA 23, The Last of Us Part 1 moved back into Top 10 at #6 on the back of the hugely popular HBO show.
Rounding out the Top 10 were three more new releases. Wild Hearts started in 8th, which means Electronic Arts published four of the eight best-selling titles in February. Next up were two Japanese titles in Sega’s Like a Dragon: Ishin! and Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler II finishing up the Top 10. As a comparison for the latter, Octopath Traveler was the best-selling title of July 2018. In fairness, the sequel had only a couple days of tracking last month, however it also launched on more platforms than strictly Nintendo Switch.
Moving down the list to look at other new games, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land started at #15. The Kirby brand has seen a nice boost from the Switch effect this generation, as last year’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land was the fastest-selling game in franchise history. We’ll know more about its performance during Nintendo’s upcoming results.
Company of Heroes 3 debuted at #16. That’s a solid showing from the latest mainline entry in the real time strategy series, as Company of Heroes 2 didn’t chart back in 2013. This also means that Sega had three games among the best-sellers ranks in February. Finally, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line landed right at #20, the second game from Square Enix on the list.
It’s way early in the year, so the annual ranks look a lot like February’s. Hogwarts Legacy entering the list at #1 is the headliner, of course. Sony’s The Last of Us Part 1 bumps up into the Top 10, at #9. Electronic Arts still has three titles within the Top 5, and also boasts Need for Speed: Unbound at #18 and Wild Hearts sneaking in at #20.
Check below for a complete rundown of recent best-sellers.
Top-Selling Games of February 2023, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Dead Space Remake
- Madden NFL 23
- FIFA 23
- The Last of Us Part 1
- Elden Ring
- Wild Hearts
- Like a Dragon: Ishin!
- Octopath Traveler II
- God of War: Ragnarök
- Minecraft
- Mario Kart 8*
- Pokémon Scarlet & Violet*
- Kirby’s Return to Dream Land*
- Company of Heroes 3
- Sonic Frontiers
- The Last of Us Part 2
- NBA 2K23*
- Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Top-Selling Games of 2023 So Far, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Dead Space Remake
- Madden NFL 23
- FIFA 23
- Elden Ring
- Fire Emblem Engage*
- God of War: Ragnarök
- The Last of Us Part 1
- Forspoken
- Pokémon Scarlet & Violet*
- Minecraft
- Mario Kart 8*
- One Piece Odyssey
- Sonic Frontiers
- Monster Hunter: Rise
- NBA 2K23*
- Need for Speed: Unbound
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Wild Hearts
Last month, domestic Hardware segment sales jumped a staggering 68% to nearly $500 million. After January’s resilience, it’s returned to growth amidst continued supply improvements and people’s general interest in buying consoles. A major third-party software launch in Hogwarts Legacy didn’t hurt, either.
In fact, Circana pointed out the latest monthly result was the highest hardware spend during a February month in well over a decade. Last month’s $495 million figure was the best since 2009, back when it reached $534 million.
Expanding to the current yearly number, console spend is trending 29% higher to $888 million.
Leading the charge here is Sony’s latest generation of PlayStation 5 devices. This family repeated its win from January, indicating the company’s supply lines are shored up and retail boxes are available for folks to purchase as desired. In fact, PlayStation 5 unit sales last month set a record February level compared to all other individual PlayStation platforms in history. Better availability alongside pent-up demand and tent-pole AAA title was the perfect storm for a record month.
While Circana doesn’t share exact unit sales, we can estimate based on historical data. Using older data from The NPD Group results back during February 2005, PlayStation 2 unit sales domestically were roughly 533K at the time. PlayStation 5’s output last month must have been even higher for it to set a record. Over half a million sold in a single, non-holiday month!
What about something non-PlayStation? Such as Nintendo Switch? Or Xbox Series X|S?
Well then, Switch was second in February on unit sales while Xbox Series X|S generated the second most dollars. As for 2023, Nintendo Switch was second on dollars generated while Xbox Series X|S slots in third by that metric.
Accessories was the other segment that rose double-digits in February, moving up 13% to $212 million. It’s now essentially flat for the year, down 1% to $377 million in aggregate across the first two months.
Circana attributed the monthly gain to a greater contribution from virtual reality headsets, which offset lower controller buying. The main reason for that was, clearly, the launch of PlayStation VR2. To what extent is unclear, because Sony hasn’t shared results on its new product and this report isn’t specific on how it compares to its predecessor or peers. It’s hard to say where indicators point when there aren’t any.
Update: I’ve chatted with Piscatella from Circana. He confirmed the best-selling accessory of February was Sony’s DualSense Midnight Black wireless controller. Additionally, Sony also secured second place with its DualSense Gray Camo game pad iteration. I have my eye on future releases to get a sense of how PlayStation’s premium DualSense Edge version fares.
February’s showing for U.S. spending was a solid recovery from January, and the best year-on-year growth in around 18 months. It helped to have an uber-popular franchise like Harry Potter launch, not to mention how people can actually find consoles to buy which led to PlayStation 5 setting a new February unit sales high within the brand’s history.
There’s also the general impact from easing inflation, allowing consumers to spend a bit more on entertainment. Having console supply or major games on market is great; there’s also the buying power and ongoing demand side of the equation.
“Improved PS5 supply has certainly helped, as have strong sales performances across both new releases and catalog titles,” noted Piscatella. “Some areas are still in the process of normalizing such as mobile, and we’re still seeing delays that might not have happened in other times.”
Looking ahead to March, it’s already almost the end of another quarter! Note the Circana sales report tracks from February 26th to April 1st.
I’m upbeat, especially for the likes of new releases, software holdovers from February and PlayStation hardware. Mobile remains iffy. Even considering last year when March had the bulk of Elden Ring sales, this year there’s the equally impressive Hogwarts Legacy, which I expect might repeat as the month’s top-seller.
The other AAA title that will compete for March’s prime position is Resident Evil 4 Remake, which shipped 3 million units during its first two days according to Capcom. It will be among the Top 3, and I’m Leoning towards predicting it will win.
Then there’s additional bigger budget releases that will chart, including MLB The Show 23, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and WWE 2K23. I’m expecting a great opening day (and month) from MLB The Show in particular, and there’s upside to WWE 2K after last year’s return to form.
On the hardware front, it’s difficult to bet against the PlayStation 5 right now. So I won’t, at least not until May when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hits Switch. Speaking of, have you seen that footage? Wow!
In general for the upcoming March monthly announcement, I see spending up slightly since last year, with hardware showcasing a double-digit bump. Content will be closer to flat, depending on how mobile goes.
In the meantime, I recommend checking out Piscatella’s thread on Twitter (even though he doesn’t like us dark mode users!) for more details on February’s results. Feel free to drop a line here or on social media with any questions or comments. Thanks for visiting! Be safe, all.
*Digital Sales Not Included
Note: Comparisons are year-over-year unless otherwise mentioned.
Sources: Capcom, Circana, Nintendo, Warner Bros.
-Dom