July 15, 2022 3:43 PM
Cloud and Tifa.
Image Credit: Sony
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Consumer spending in games continues to trend downwards compared with last year, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. While subscription spending is showing signs of growth, it was not enough to offset the 11% drop in hardware, content, and accessory spending.
June 2022 Dollar Sales, MillionsJune 2021June 2022ChangeTotal Video Game Sales$4,878$4,335-11%Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR) platforms)$4,271$3,789-11%Video Game Hardware$401$371-8%Video Game Accessories$206$176-15%*Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower“June 2022 consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories fell 11% when compared to a year ago, to $4.3 billion,” said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. “Growth in subscription spending could not offset declines in other areas of content spending, while hardware and accessory spending also dropped.” The PlayStation 5 generated the highest dollar sales among all the platforms, both in June and in the first half of 2022. The Nintendo Switch led both in terms of unit sales.
According to data supplied by Sensor Tower, the mobile market is also dipping slightly, though less so than May — it was down 10.7% in June, compared with 12.6% in May. Sensor Tower speculates that the slower drop could be due to the launch of Diablo Immortal, which was in the top 10 revenue charts on both stores. Google Play showed the most decline, while the App Store showed small positive YoY growth.
Year-to-Date 2022 Dollar Sales, MillionsYTD 2021YTD 2022ChangeTotal Video Game Sales$29,287$26,273-10%Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR) platforms)$25,720$23,093-10%Video Game Hardware$2,345$2,310-9%Video Game Accessories$1,222$1,050-14%*Mobile spending provided by Sensor TowerPiscatella added, “First half spending totaled $26.3 billion, a 10% shortfall when compared to the same period in 2021. Subscription content is the only major spending category that exhibited spending growth.”
June 2022 NPD: Top 20 best-selling games of the month in the U.S.
NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but it also gets digital data directly from publishers. Not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its first-party sales, and Activision Blizzard does not provide its Battle.net sales.
These charts are sorted by dollar sales — not number of units sold. And this is for full-game sales and does not include in-game spending.
RankLast
Month
RankAll PlatformsPublisher11Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment22LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive3NEWMario Strikers: Battle League*Nintendo45MLB: The Show 22^Multiple Video Game Manufacturers557OverwatchActivision Blizzard (Corp)68Mario Kart 8*Nintendo73Nintendo Switch Sports*Nintendo86Kirby and the Forgotten Land*Nintendo9159Final Fantasy VII: RemakeSquare Enix Inc (Corp)1011MinecraftMultiple Video Game Manufacturers117Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)12NEWF1 22Electronic Arts1330Monster Hunter: RiseCapcom USA1456Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami ChroniclesSega1514Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*Nintendo16NEWFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes*Nintendo17NEWSonic OriginsSega1810Pokémon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo19NEWThe Quarry*Take Two Interactive2028Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesSony (Corp)*Digital sales not included
^Xbox & Switch digital sales not included
No surprise, Elden Ring and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga continue to dominate the chart. According to Piscatella, “Elden Ring ranks among the top 10 best-selling premium games in the U.S. market all-time (dollar sales).”
New games on the charts
One of the interesting quirks about this month, as opposed to the previous months, is how many new games have made it into the top 20 this month. While April and May’s charts largely consisted of previously-released titles, five new games have made it in June, the highest since March. This is likely because of the number of interesting new releases, which is arguably higher this month than it has been. The top-selling new release is Mario Strikers: Battle League, followed by F1 22, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, Sonic Origins, and The Quarry.
Spike of interest in older titles
The other interesting thing about June’s charts is the number of games in the top 20 that were previously of much lower rank. For example, Final Fantasy VII: Remake was previously ranked 159, but has risen to 9th place this month. This is likely because of the announcement of the sequel, among other promotional events in June to celebrate the original game’s 25th anniversary. According to Piscatella, Final Fantasy VII: Remake was last in the top 20 in May 2020. Other games freshly back on the charts including Overwatch (from 59th to 5th place), following new details on the sequel; Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles (56th to 14th place), which received a release on the Switch, and Monster Hunter: Rise (30th to 13th place), following the launch of the Sunbreak expansion.
June 2022 NPD: 20 best-selling games of 2022 so far
RankLast
Month
RankAll PlatformsPublisher11Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment22LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive33Pokémon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo44Horizon II: Forbidden WestSony (Corp)55MLB: The Show 22^Multiple Video Game Manufacturers66Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)77Gran Turismo 7Sony (Corp)88Kirby and the Forgotten Land*Nintendo99Mario Kart 8*Nintendo1010Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts1113Nintendo Switch Sports*Nintendo1212MinecraftMultiple Video Game Manufacturers1311FIFA 22Electronic Arts1414Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesSony (Corp)1515Monster Hunter: RiseCapcom USA1617Animal Crossing: New Horizons*Nintendo1719Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*Nintendo1818Mario Party Superstars*Pokémon Legends: Arceus*1920Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)2016Dying Light 2: Stay Human*Square Enix Inc (Corp)*Digital sales not included
^Xbox & Switch digital sales not includedJune 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling games of the last 12 months
RankLast
Month
RankAll PlatformsPublisher11Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment22Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)33Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts44Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl*Nintendo55LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive66Battlefield 2042Electronic Arts77FIFA 22Electronic Arts88Far Cry 6Ubisoft99Pokémon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo1011Horizon II: Forbidden WestSony (Corp)*Digital sales not includedJune 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo-platform games in the U.S.
RankLast
Month
RankNintendo PlatformsPublisher1NEWMario Strikers: Battle League*Nintendo24Mario Kart 8*Nintendo31Nintendo Switch Sports*Nintendo42Kirby and the Forgotten Land*Nintendo57Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*Nintendo6NEWFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes*Nintendo75Pokémon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo83LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive96Animal Crossing: New Horizons*Nintendo10NEWDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami ChroniclesSega*Digital sales not included(Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar salesJune 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling PlayStation-platform games in the U.S.
RankLast
Month
RankPlayStation PlatformsPublisher12Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment21MLB: The Show 22Sony (Corp)34LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive48Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesSony (Corp)56Horizon II: Forbidden WestSony (Corp)6NEWThe Quarry*Take Two Interactive (Corp)757OverwatchActivision Blizzard (Corp)818Ratchet & Clank: Rift ApartSony (Corp)97Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)105Gran Turismo 7Sony (Corp)*Digital sales not included(Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar salesMay 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Xbox-platform games in the U.S.
RankLast
Month
RankXbox PlatformsPublisher11Elden RingBandai Namco Entertainment22LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaWarner Bros. Interactive317OverwatchActivision Blizzard (Corp)4NEWF1 22Electronic Arts54Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)613Far Cry 6Ubisoft75Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)87Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)Activision Blizzard (Corp)98Call of Duty: Black Ops IIIActivision Blizzard (Corp)109Forza Horizon 5Microsoft (Corp)*Digital sales not included(Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar salesGamesBeat’s creed when covering the game industry is “where passion meets business.” What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you — not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Learn more about membership.
