Hopefully, a lot of people are beating the heat by playing some video games inside where the A/C is nice and cool.
At least, that’s what the U.S. video game industry could use right now.
Continued availability issues and rising concerns due to inflation and other factors have amounted to a new level that’s tough to beat for an industry that flourished in the early days of the pandemic era. Now, it might be a toss-up between games or groceries for some.
According to The NPD Group, U.S. consumer spending on video game products slipped 13% in the second quarter of 2022. Sure, that’s still a whopping $12.35 billion, but double-digit declines ripped through spending on content, mobile games, and accessories from April-June. With the Xbox Series S|X, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch still pretty hard to come by, hardware sales declined 1%.
“Higher prices in everyday spending categories such as food and gas, the return of experiential spending such as travel and attending live events, a lighter release slate of new games, and continued new generation console hardware supply constraints were all likely contributors to the decline seen in the second quarter,” says Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group.
So what games were hot in the second quarter of this year? According to NPD and Sensor Tower, players are still getting into the game on Among Us, Angry Birds 2, Bingo Blitz, Call of Duty: Warzone, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Clash of Clans, Coin Master, Diablo Immortal, Elden Ring, Evony: The King’s Return, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, Homescapes, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Madden NFL 22, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, MLB The Show 22, Pokémon GO, Roblox, Royal Match, The Sims 4, and State of Survival.
Want some inspiration? The Pop Insider‘s got you covered with this list of 9 Video Games and Accessories to Level Up Summer 2022!
