Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
State of the market
Projected total US spending on video game hardware, content and accessories fell 3% in April 2024 vs YA, to $4.1B. A 2% increase in content spending could not offset a 43% drop in hardware and a 4% dip in accessories.
The content spending growth was led by mobile, with gains from this segment offsetting a 24% year-on-year dip in content spending on Console platforms (Mobile spending totals provided by Sensor Tower).
US Video Game Projected Total Market Consumer Spending - 13 month rolling consumer spending by month and change versus prior year. Note: January 2024 was a 5-week tracking period, while January 2023 was a 4-week tracking period.
Hardware
April video game hardware spending fell 43% when compared to a year ago, to $208 million. All current console hardware platforms fell a minimum of 26% year-on-year, with Switch showing the strongest year-on-year decline (-69%).
PlayStation 5 again led the month’s hardware market in unit and dollar sales. Nintendo Switch once again finished 2nd in unit sales, while Xbox Series ranked 2nd in dollars.
Software
Stellar Blade debuted as the best-selling premium game of April, and the #16 best-selling game of 2024 year-to-date. Stellar Blade was the only new release in April to rank among the month’s top 20 best-selling premium video games.
Helldivers II held to its #2 ranking despite April dollar sales falling by more than 70% when compared to March.
Sea of Thieves was the 4th best-selling game of April, following its launch on PlayStation platforms during the month. The title ranked 55th on the March best-selling titles chart. Sea of Thieves was the #3 best-selling game on PlayStation platforms in April.
Another title that saw a strong gain on the charts thanks to its release on PlayStation platforms was Grounded, which jumped from #167 on the March best-selling titles chat to #12 in April. Grounded was the 9th best-selling game on PlayStation platforms during April.
Fallout games also performed strongly in April, following the debut of the Fallout television series. Fallout 4 ranked 5th on the April charts, after finishing March at #87, while Fallout 76 jumped from 159th in March to #8 in April.
Mobile
Sensor Tower reports the top 10 games by U.S. consumer spend in April and the rank change from March as: MONOPOLY GO!, Royal Match, Candy Crush Saga (+1), Roblox (-1), Last War: Survival (+2), Coin Master (-1), Whiteout Survival (-1), Township (+1), Evony (+5) and Clash of Clans.
“While US consumer spend declined 6% from March 2024, the YoY growth trend continues, with April 2024 US consumer spend up 12% from April 2023,” said Samuel Aune of Sensor Tower. “Comparing April to last year, Casino is the biggest winner, with... MONOPOLY GO! driving the genre."
“Last War: Survival has continued to climb the rankings and is now a top 5 game by US consumer spend. It was one of only three games in the top 10 that saw revenue growth MoM, with Candy Crush Saga and Evony being the other two. Each drove 16-18% revenue growth,” said Aune.
Accessories
April spending on Accessories fell 4% when compared to a year ago to $152M, driven by a 9% year-on-year decline in Gamepad spending.
The PlayStation Portal was the best-selling accessory in dollar sales for both April and 2024 year-to-date.
Software Charts
Year to Date
PlayStation Platforms
Xbox Platforms
Nintendo Platforms
Monthly Active User Engagement
Top 10 Games Played on PlayStation 5 Ranked by Monthly Active Users (US)
Top 10 Games Played on Xbox Series Ranked by Monthly Active Users (US)
Top 10 Games Played on Steam Ranked by Monthly Active Users (US)
Rankings
Units: PS5 > NSW > XBS
Revenue: PS5 > XBS > NSW
Thanks Mat Piscatella and Welfare from installbase forum!
HW sales estimates from Welfare over on IB:
Projected total US spending on video game hardware, content and accessories fell 3% in April 2024 vs YA, to $4.1B. A 2% increase in content spending could not offset a 43% drop in hardware and a 4% dip in accessories.
The content spending growth was led by mobile, with gains from this segment offsetting a 24% year-on-year dip in content spending on Console platforms (Mobile spending totals provided by Sensor Tower).
US Video Game Projected Total Market Consumer Spending - 13 month rolling consumer spending by month and change versus prior year. Note: January 2024 was a 5-week tracking period, while January 2023 was a 4-week tracking period.
Hardware
April video game hardware spending fell 43% when compared to a year ago, to $208 million. All current console hardware platforms fell a minimum of 26% year-on-year, with Switch showing the strongest year-on-year decline (-69%).
PlayStation 5 again led the month’s hardware market in unit and dollar sales. Nintendo Switch once again finished 2nd in unit sales, while Xbox Series ranked 2nd in dollars.
Software
Stellar Blade debuted as the best-selling premium game of April, and the #16 best-selling game of 2024 year-to-date. Stellar Blade was the only new release in April to rank among the month’s top 20 best-selling premium video games.
Helldivers II held to its #2 ranking despite April dollar sales falling by more than 70% when compared to March.
Sea of Thieves was the 4th best-selling game of April, following its launch on PlayStation platforms during the month. The title ranked 55th on the March best-selling titles chart. Sea of Thieves was the #3 best-selling game on PlayStation platforms in April.
Another title that saw a strong gain on the charts thanks to its release on PlayStation platforms was Grounded, which jumped from #167 on the March best-selling titles chat to #12 in April. Grounded was the 9th best-selling game on PlayStation platforms during April.
Fallout games also performed strongly in April, following the debut of the Fallout television series. Fallout 4 ranked 5th on the April charts, after finishing March at #87, while Fallout 76 jumped from 159th in March to #8 in April.
Mobile
Sensor Tower reports the top 10 games by U.S. consumer spend in April and the rank change from March as: MONOPOLY GO!, Royal Match, Candy Crush Saga (+1), Roblox (-1), Last War: Survival (+2), Coin Master (-1), Whiteout Survival (-1), Township (+1), Evony (+5) and Clash of Clans.
“While US consumer spend declined 6% from March 2024, the YoY growth trend continues, with April 2024 US consumer spend up 12% from April 2023,” said Samuel Aune of Sensor Tower. “Comparing April to last year, Casino is the biggest winner, with... MONOPOLY GO! driving the genre."
“Last War: Survival has continued to climb the rankings and is now a top 5 game by US consumer spend. It was one of only three games in the top 10 that saw revenue growth MoM, with Candy Crush Saga and Evony being the other two. Each drove 16-18% revenue growth,” said Aune.
Accessories
April spending on Accessories fell 4% when compared to a year ago to $152M, driven by a 9% year-on-year decline in Gamepad spending.
The PlayStation Portal was the best-selling accessory in dollar sales for both April and 2024 year-to-date.
Software Charts
Year to Date
PlayStation Platforms
Xbox Platforms
Nintendo Platforms
Monthly Active User Engagement
Top 10 Games Played on PlayStation 5 Ranked by Monthly Active Users (US)
Top 10 Games Played on Xbox Series Ranked by Monthly Active Users (US)
Top 10 Games Played on Steam Ranked by Monthly Active Users (US)
Rankings
Units: PS5 > NSW > XBS
Revenue: PS5 > XBS > NSW
Thanks Mat Piscatella and Welfare from installbase forum!
HW sales estimates from Welfare over on IB:
- PS5: 250K
- NSW: 140K
- XBS: 105K
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