US Gaming Spending Sees 7% Decline in November

According to Circana's latest monthly report on US gaming spending, the industry experienced a downturn in November, with total spending decreasing by 7% to $5.87 billion. The decline was largely driven by a 24% drop in hardware sales, which fell to $964 million, and a 3% decrease in game content spending, totaling $4.6 billion. The latter was attributed to a tough comparison with last year's releases, including God of War: Ragnarok and Pokémon: Scarlet and Violet. However, the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 provided some relief, debuting at the top of the November sales charts. Other new releases, such as Super Mario RPG remake, Naruto x Baruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, and Star Ocean: The Second Story R, also made it into the top 20. In contrast, mobile game spending saw a 2.6% increase, with Monopoly Go and Coin Master being top performers. Additionally, accessory sales were up 3% to $303 million, driven by controller sales, including the PS5 Midnight Black Dual Sense controller.