Summer is trending towards its end here in the States, and spending on video games is showing similar signs of laziness.
As I’ve written about recently, publishers and developers are generally seeing declines from highs of the last couple years when they benefited from more restrictive quarantine measures. This is reflected in today’s monthly sales report from The NPD Group, which showed another period of lower spending by consumers across all of gaming.
With an almost double-digit decline in total spend during July, the games industry experienced its ninth consecutive month of contraction. It’s worth keeping in mind that last year was an all-time high for July spending, so it’s nowhere near a doomsday scenario.
This is attributed to a variety of factors, namely a normalization towards pre-pandemic levels and leaning towards other entertainment options. Purchasing on subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, continues to be the lone bright spot. Losses elsewhere, notably mobile experiencing its worst decline of 2022 to date, prove to be weighing down the results.
Out of Video Game Content, Hardware and Accessories segments, only Hardware was able to generate any sort of monthly growth.
In what I’d call the surprise upset of the year, character fighter MultiVersus emerged victorious for overall software sales. This free-to-play game from Warner Bros managed to snag the top spot away from 2022 heavyweights like Elden Ring and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga solely due to people purchasing its founder pack.
Positive signs on the console front continued for Sony’s PlayStation 5 as it led hardware ranks last month when measured by dollar sales, bolstered by improved stock at retail. Which is reassuring, even if temporary, given global chip cost is still increasing and supply chain disruptions are still rearing their ugly head.
The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella shouted out a couple items of note on Twitter, namely the aforementioned improving supply for hardware and an “impressive” start for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on Nintendo Switch which debuted in fourth place on the software list.
Look below the fold, so to speak, for a full recap of July’s monthly sales report.
United States Games Industry Sales (July 3rd, 2022 – July 30th, 2022)
When compared to the record $4.57 billion in monthly earnings this time last year, total consumer spending on gaming dipped 9% in July to $4.18 billion. The gallery above displays a handful of handy images digging into the specifics. I’d point attention to the trend chart showing the past few years, clearly displaying this latest amount is nearly identical to that of July 2020.
Expanding to an annual figure for more context, aggregated 2022 sales are currently down 10% to $30.46 billion. This was upwards of $33.86 billion in the seven months ending July 2021.
The biggest contributor was Video Game Content, which counts software and related purchasing, hitting $3.67 billion during July. That’s roughly 88% of overall spending for the month. It’s also off 10% from last year’s $4.1 billion.
Mobile is traditionally the main factor within Content. Unfortunately, mobile just experienced its worst monthly decline of the year to date. This was vast under-performance, considering historical seasonality indicates this is when mobile spend should actually be doing well. While the report didn’t share an exact dollar or percentage movement, I’d call it a yellow flag that’s worth monitoring as we move more into the back half of 2022. Top mobile performers, in order, were Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, Coin Master, Pokémon Go and Evony: The King’s Return.
Also a part of Content, premium games boasted three newer releases within the top eight of July’s best-sellers.
The shocker here again being July’s leader in MultiVersus, which hit open beta with only days left in the tracking period plus was the best-selling title on the Xbox platform list. It’s reminiscent of 2017’s Fortnite Battle Royale, which started its reign in beta form and remained that way for a while. The reason a free-to-play game like MultiVersus was even on the list, let alone led, was the strength of its Founder’s Pack offering things like characters and in-game currency. Combine a low barrier to entry with solid gameplay and optional monetization for an estimated 12 million players right now and that’s a recipe for solid earnings.
This also means Warner Bros published two of the Top 3 titles within the premium ranks, seeing as Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga moved down one spot to third place. The sheer consistency of this 3D action adventure is notable, maintaining a strong position since starting out back in April.
Sandwiched between those as July’s runner-up was, of course, Elden Ring. Which has been, and will be, a constant force on the U.S. charts. Just yesterday, publisher Bandai Namco shared how From Software’s latest surpassed yet another sales milestone, reaching 16.6 million units sold globally as of June. That’s up 3.2 million since March’s 13.4 million total. I expect it to achieve 20 million next quarter as it will compete with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for this year’s domestic chart-topper.
The second new release to chart in July was Xenoblade Chronicles 3, making it to #4 even without its digital sales counted. That’s the best start for any title in the series from a ranking standpoint. Its predecessor Xenoblade Chronicles 2 ranked #16 back during a heavy holiday month of December 2017, plus the original didn’t make the Top 10 back in April 2012 when it launched in North America. This year’s entry was also Switch’s best-seller during July.
Digimon Survive was the only other new entry on the overall chart, achieving eighth place to start. This is quite the accomplishment for the visual novel slash tactical RPG also published by Bandai Namco, considering it went on sale with only a couple days left in the July tracking period.
As for other movers, Electronic Arts’ F1 22 stood out as passing other titles into the Top 10 during its first full month of sales. Overwatch and Nintendo Switch Sports dropped outside the Top 10 while two older Call of Duty titles in Black Ops Cold War and 2015’s Black Ops 3 shuffled into the Top 20, showing a clear consumer appetite ahead of mid-September’s showcase for this year’s military shooter.
With respect to 2022 so far, the Top 10 list was unchanged as Elden Ring, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Pokémon Legends: Arceus remain as best-sellers. I expect that to change in August. Without a doubt.
Here’s a full rundown of the best-selling software during July and 2022 right now.
Top-Selling Games of July 2022, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
- MultiVersus
- Elden Ring
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3*
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- MLB: The Show 22^
- Mario Kart 8*
- Digimon Survive
- Minecraft
- F1 22
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land*
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- Overwatch
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus*
- Nintendo Switch Sports*
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Far Cry 6
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
- Monster Hunter Rise
Top-Selling Games of 2022 So Far, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
- Elden Ring
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus*
- Horizon Forbidden West
- MLB The Show 22^
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Gran Turismo 7
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land*
- Mario Kart 8*
- Madden NFL 22
- Minecraft
- Nintendo Switch Sports*
- FIFA 22
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Mario Party Superstars*
- Dying Light 2: Stay Human*
The only large segment to gain in July was Video Game Hardware, moving up a solid 12% to $362 million in consumer spend. I believe this is the best result since way back in July 2008, when it reached almost $450 million during the height of Nintendo Wii fever.
Funny what can happen when people can find boxes at retail!
Consoles sales are still currently down year-to-date, albeit Hardware is the only category to remain in single-digit decline territory. During the first seven months of 2022, spending totaled $2.5 billion or 7% lower than the $2.67 billion at this point last year.
Just as it did back in June, PlayStation 5 generated the highest amount of dollar sales compared to all other competitors. Xbox Series X|S came in second place, as I confirmed with The NPD Group directly. Both families generated double-digit gains in revenue compared to July 2021, which is reassuring at this stage in the cycle given where supply has been the past two years.
This is great sign for these manufacturers individually and the general potential of the domestic industry here in 2022, implying better inventories and ongoing demand. The economic equation has been out of whack for too long, leading some to believe that scarcity was leading to increased levels of buyer interest. Personally, I maintained the demand side has been consistently high since late 2020. It’s just time for supply to catch up, hopefully over a longer time frame rather than a temporary boost.
If measured by unit sales, Nintendo Switch topped the category again during July. Similarly, PlayStation 5 was the runner-up by this metric. Same as June, in both regards.
The major takeaway for those that track these things closely is supply constraints might very well be easing. Slowly. Or the refrain could be temporary. With the semiconductor situation globally where experts are still projecting 10 to 15% price increases, I’m hesitant to be too optimistic in this area. What’s great is the supply chain seems to be firming up. That’s on display with PlayStation’s results here plus something like Valve increasing production of its Steam Deck handheld. Consumer electronics are hitting the market.
Along these lines, Sony is quite upbeat on the remainder of this year into early next year for PlayStation 5, which recently hit nearly 22 million in lifetime shipments. It recently reiterated what I think is an ambitious 18 million units sales target for the fiscal year ending in March 2023. Right now, the current generation of hardware is lagging its predecessor, though executives are signaling strength to the market. I hope that turns out to be true, even if my forecast is in the 15 to 16 million range. As a reference, Sony shipped 2.4 million units during April to June which is up slightly from 2.3 million a year back.
Nintendo is more conservative on its aging Switch hybrid as compared to prior years, setting an achievable target of 21 million for its fiscal year ending at the same time. Granted it’s at over 110 million units lifetime, with only a couple years left before its successor in my opinion as I don’t expect another mid-generation refresh or any sort of “Switch Pro XL HD” version.
The remaining category of Video Game Accessories moved down the most during the month, dipping 22% to just under $150 million. Now, everything in perspective. This is against another record-high for a July month last year when it reached $190 million. Thus, while it’s more than a 20% decline, the comparable period last year was the strongest ever.
When accounting for the year to date, Accessories spend is now just above $1.2 billion. That’s also showing the most precipitous decline of the three categories at 15% lower than last year’s $1.41 billion.
Running in parallel to the Hardware segment during July, a PlayStation product led the charge. The PlayStation 5 DualSense Midnight Black edition was the top-selling accessory, retaining its monthly lead from June. Sony’s controllers, both current generation DualSense and DualShock 4, have been consistently winning the past few months.
Still, the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller maintains its stranglehold on the annual period so far based on generating more revenue per unit because of its premium price tag. It’s been leading year-to-date for a while now.
Accessories isn’t the most glamorous of topics, I’m wondering when we’ll get a virtual reality headset check-in from NPD Group any time soon. In particular, the Meta Quest price increase kicked in earlier this month. Which, even with a dip in demand, might cause dollar sales to rise. I’d still expect a game pad to lead, mainly because of negative reaction from consumers to any sort of price bump in an inflationary environment.
For those of us tracking the U.S. games industry closely, the themes of 2022 were well intact during July: normalization, inflation, supply challenges and lighter spending compared to strong comparables. The release calendar was still quite light, even with a surprise like MultiVersus and a solid start for more niche titles in the West like Xenoblade Chronicles and a Digimon visual novel.
Now, August is when things will really pick up on the premium software side. It’s the perennial start of the games industry’s commercial swell before pushing into the pre-holiday competition.
As it does every year, a new Madden game will kick off the late summer sales rush. Madden NFL 23 fully launches today from Electronic Arts, featuring the late great John Madden on its cover. Regardless of its reviews and reception, this franchise will always be a commercial juggernaut leading into the football season. I’m expecting it to lead August’s ranks, and easily at that.
The other brand new AAA launch for August is Saints Row incoming next week on a multitude of platforms. Volition’s latest in the long-running open world franchise is a reboot this time, so it’s somewhat of a wild card when it comes to sales. I think it’s releasing at the perfect time, with no Ubisoft or Rockstar open world debuting alongside, which will provide a noticeable commercial benefit. Published by Deep Silver, I see Saints Row starting in the Top 5 on August’s overall software list.
Otherwise, Nintendo’s slate is light as a feather without any major games of note. Soul Hackers 2 from Atlus will be out soon, and I could see an appearance in the Top 15. PlayStation also launched its Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC, which could very well fling back onto the charts.
Considering how stock might go, I’m forecasting another PlayStation 5 dollar sales lead in August. July’s numbers and anecdotal evidence all show a continually improving supply situation for Sony and its peers. Plus, a major multi-platform sports title like Madden hitting market means there’s going to be more casual folks yearning for the hottest new generation console. That said, I’ll wager Nintendo Switch keeps its unit sales win streak alive even without any first party bangers.
That’s a wrap on this past month’s analysis. I highly recommend checking out Piscatella’s thread on social media here because he highlights more on the platform side and various details. As always, thanks for visiting. Be safe and healthy out there!
*Digital Sales Not Included, ^Xbox & Nintendo Switch Digital Sales Not Included
Note: Comparisons are year-over-year unless otherwise mentioned.
Sources: Bandai Namco, Sony Corp, The NPD Group.
-Dom