Videogame sales log best March in 12 years
Apr. 21, 2020 1:43 PM ET|About: Nintendo Co., Ltd. (NTDOY)|By: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor
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).
