What You Missed This Week in Video Games

“Game On” is The Fly’s weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.

NEW RELEASES: Among this week’s notable releases is Electronic Arts’ (EA) “EA Sports UFC 5,” a mixed martial arts sim releasing for PlayStation 5 (SONY) and Xbox Series X/S (MSFT) on October 27. Also releasing October 27 is Epic Games’ “Alan Wake 2,” which will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Meanwhile, Ubisoft’s (UBSFY) dancing game “Just Dance 2024” launches for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch (NTDOY) on October 24, while Konami’s (KONMY) “Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1” also comes out the same day for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC. Investors in Epic include Tencent (TCEHY), KKR (KKR), Disney (DIS), and Sony.

CIRCANA: Last week, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories grew 10% in September compared to a year ago, totaling $4.5B. Growth in spending on video game content and accessories offset an 8% decline in hardware. Year-to-date U.S. consumer spending across video game products remained 2% higher than a year ago, at $39.4B. Spending on video game content in September increased 13% vs YA, reaching $3.8B. Growth in digital premium download spending across console & PC drove most of the gains. Non-mobile subscription spending fell 2%, while Sensor Tower reported mobile spending growth of 4%. Video game hardware spending fell 8% when compared to a year ago, to $451M. Single-digit percentage growth in consumer spending on Xbox Series hardware was offset by declines across both PlayStation 5 and Switch. PlayStation 5 remained the best-selling hardware platform in both unit and dollar sales during September 2023, with Xbox Series again ranking 2nd across both measures. PlayStation 5 continued to lead the 2023 hardware market across both units and dollars. Year-to-date hardware spending was 10% higher when compared to the same period in 2022, at $3.7B.

On the software side, Piscatella said Microsoft’s “Starfield” was the best-selling game of September in the U.S., instantly becoming the 7th best-selling game of 2023 year-to-date. “Starfield” ranked as the best-selling title of the month across both Xbox and PC, with PC being its lead sales platform. Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) “Mortal Kombat 1” debuted as the 2nd best-selling game of September and the #8 best-selling game of 2023 YTD. “Mortal Kombat 1” was the best-selling game of the month on PlayStation platforms, placed 2nd on both Xbox and PC, and ranked 3rd on Nintendo Switch. EA’s “EA Sports FC 24” was the 3rd best-selling game of September. Double-digit percentage growth was seen across both units and dollars when compared to the “FIFA 23” September 2022 launch month. “EA Sports FC 24” launched as the 14th best-selling game of 2023 year-to-date ending September. Other top-selling games in the U.S. for the month of September include “Madden NFL 24,” Take-Two’s (TTWO) “NBA 2K24,” Ubisoft’s “The Crew: Motorfest,” and Bandai Namco’s (NCBDY) “Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.”

‘SPIDER-MAN 2’ SALES: On Monday, Sony said that PlayStation 5 exclusive game “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” has sold more than 2.5M units in the first 24 hours of its availability. Additionally, Gamesindustry.biz’s Christopher Dring reported, citing GfK data, that “Spider-Man 2” claimed the top spot in the U.K.’s weekly boxed retail charts, beating out Nintendo’s “Super Mario Bros. Wonder.” Dring added that “Wonder” still had a “great launch,” according to Dring, though he noted that the game’s sales are slightly ahead of “New Super Mario Bros. Wii,” which previously had the biggest 2D “Mario” launch in U.K. history.

Click here to check out recent Media Buzz Sentiment on Sony as measured by TipRanks.

OTHER STORIES TO WATCH:

• Truist raised its price target on Electronic Arts to $145 from $140 ahead of Q2 results (read more)
• Expectations for Take-Two’s Q2 are sluggish amid substantial potential, says Roth MKM (read more)
• Roblox (RBLX) asked a number of its remote employees to start working from its headquarters in San Mateo by next summer (read more)