US Gaming Market Sees Sales Decline in October Despite Strong New Releases

The US gaming market experienced a 5% decline in consumer spending year-over-year for October, marking the first drop since April, according to a report by Circana. The total spending on gaming for the month was $4.04 billion, with a significant portion of the decline attributed to the shift in release dates for the Call of Duty series. Last year, the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 boosted October's numbers, while this year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was released in November. Despite this, October saw a strong lineup of new releases, with six games debuting in the top ten software charts. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 took the top spot, followed by Super Mario Bros. Wonder in second place, although the latter's figures are not directly comparable due to Circana not reporting digital sales of Nintendo's first-party titles. Other notable new releases included Assassin's Creed: Mirage, UFC 5, NHL 24, and Sonic Superstars, which placed third, seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively. Spider-Man 2 has already become the fourth best-selling game of the year, according to Circana, behind Hogwarts Legacy, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Madden NFL 24. On the mobile front, consumer spending saw a 2.1% year-over-year increase, with Monopoly Go retaining its position as the highest-grossing title. Established games like Clash of Clans and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes also experienced significant month-over-month revenue growth. Overall, consumer spending on game content was down 4% to $3.56 billion, while console hardware sales took a significant hit, declining 23% year-over-year to $327 million. The PS5 was the best-selling system in terms of both units and dollar amount, followed by the Switch and Xbox Series X|S. Spending on accessories was down 2% to $147 million, with the 'Midnight Black' PS5 Dual Sense controller being the top accessory in terms of sales.