While consumer spending on video games saw an overall decrease of 8% between January and March of this year compared to 2021, Xbox hardware saw a massive jump in dollar sales in the United States compared to the same time last year.
The data comes from The NPD Group’s consumer spending report for Q1 2022, which notes that even with hardware spending having decreased by 15% compared to Q1 2021, Xbox hardware in terms of total dollar sales saw a massive 92% increase. The report gives no specific reason for the huge jump in dollar sales for Xbox, though improved console availability for both the Xbox Series X and less expensive Xbox Series S–as well as fewer supply chain issues– could certainly be a factor. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in the same time frame in terms of units sold.
Total spending on games in the U.S. came out to $13.9 billion in Q1 2022, but it was the mobile space that saw the largest drop in spending when compared to the same time last year with a 10% decrease. While mobile spending was down, The NPD does note that many of the most popular games on the platform continued to grow their number of players compared to last year and even 2019.
“Players are clearly still engaging with favorite games on mobile but have a broader array of alternative entertainment options open to them compared to a year ago as life in the U.S. normalizes,” Randy Nelson, head of mobile insights at Sensor Tower, said as part of The NPD report.
Top games for Q1 2022 in terms of spending include many of the usual suspects, such as Fortnite, Minecraft, Pokemon Go, Roblox, Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone, NBA 2K22, Madden NFL 22, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, and Grand Theft Auto V. Other titles that led the quarter include Elden Ring, Horizon: Forbidden West, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Party Superstars, Coin Master, The Sims 4, and WWE 2K22.
The NPD also notes that while overall spending was down by $1.2 billion for the quarter, it still remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. Other factors for the decrease in spending include supply constraints for new hardware, the lack of additional disposable income in the form of stimulus checks when compared to Q1 2021, and “the return of experiential spending opportunities that had been depressed last year.”
Sales numbers in 2022 were unlikely to top 2021, which in many ways was a record-breaking year. The amount of money being spent on video games set a new record high last year, when total spending reached $60.4 billion. That was an increase from an already record-breaking $56.9 billion in 2020, a 27% increase from total sales pre-pandemic in 2019.