U.S. video game spending rose 10% y/y in July, says Circana

Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said that projected U.S. spending on video game hardware, content and accessories reached $4.8B in July 2024, gaining 10% when compared to a year ago. 2024 year-to-date spending is now 2% higher than a year ago, at $32.1B. Video game content spending increased 10% in July compared to a year ago, as 29% growth in console content spending and an 8% increase in mobile was partially offset by a 6% drop in spending on PC, cloud, and non-console VR content. July video game hardware spending grew 12% when compared to a year ago, to $326 million. Growth in spending on Sony‘s (SONY) PlayStation 5 (+25% vs YA) and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox Series (+48%) hardware was partially offset by a 44% drop in spending on Nintendo Switch (NTDOY). PlayStation 5 led the month’s hardware market in unit and dollar sales, with Xbox Series ranking 2nd across both measures. July 2024 is the first month with year-on-year growth in video game hardware spending since the 2% increase seen during December 2023. Other publicly traded companies in the space include Electronic Arts (EA), GameStop (GME), NetEase (NTES), Take-Two (TTWO), Tencent (TCEHY) and Ubisoft (UBSFY).