Video game

Videogame sales log best March in 12 years – Seeking Alpha


Videogame sales posted a healthy rebound in March – reversing seven months of year-over-year declines – as the COVID-19 crisis spurred broad shelter-at-home orders, and users flocked to games for entertainment.

Industry sales rose 35% overall from March 2019 to $1.6B, the highest spending for a March month since the $1.8B in March 2008, according to NPD Group.

Gains were broad – and considering the refresh cycle, very strong in hardware (up 63% to $461M). In short: People went out and bought Switches.

Software sales rose 34%, to $739M, and accessory revenues rose 12%, to $397M.

The strong month cut the industry’s YTD sales decline to 4%, and hardware is now up 2% YTD.

In hardware, Nintendo Switch (OTCPK:NTDOY) set a March sales record, more than double its total from a year ago, analyst Mat Piscatella notes. PlayStation 4 (NYSE:SNE) and Xbox One (NASDAQ:MSFT) each grew sales by more than 25%.

The Switch Pro Controller was the best-selling individual gamepad, while PlayStation 4 hit a platform high for gamepad spending in a March. Best-selling headset/headphone was Turtle Beach’s (NASDAQ:HEAR) Xbox One Ear Force Stealth 600.

In software, it was all about Animal Crossing: New Horizons (OTCPK:NTDOY), which debut at the top of the monthly chart and immediately became the second-best selling game YTD. In its first month, it’s exceeded lifetime sales of all others in the Animal Crossing franchise.

It outpaced last month’s leader, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (NASDAQ:ATVI), and other debuts settled in behind: at No. 3, MLB: The Show 20 (SNE), and at No. 4, Resident Evil 3 (OTCPK:CCOEY).

Rounding out the software dollar-sales top 10: No. 5, NBA 2K20 (NASDAQ:TTWO); No. 6, Doom Eternal (Bethesda Softworks); No. 7, Persona 5: Royal (Atlus); No. 8, Grand Theft Auto V (TTWO); No. 9, Borderlands 3 (TTWO); No. 10, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (OTCPK:NTDOY).

Related tickers: OTCPK:NTDOY -0.2%, SNE -2.3%, MSFT -3%, HEAR +6.4%, EA -1%, ATVI -0.4%, TTWO +0.9%, T -3%, OTCPK:UBSFY -1.9%, OTCPK:NCBDY +9.8%, OTCPK:SQNNY -3.6%, OTCPK:CCOEY -2.6%, OTCPK:SGAMY +0.3%. Retail stock: GME -9.7%.

ETFs: GAMR -2.1%, ESPO -2.7%, NERD -2.3%.





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