U.S. gaming industry records another excellent quarter as pandemic fuels sales

The COVID-19 pandemic has utterly decimate a number of industries over the the past several months, but the U.S. gaming industry continues to benefit as people continue to be stuck at home. Yet another report from NPD highlights an excellent quarter, with spending hitting a new Q2 record in the States.

According to the figures, gamers spent $11.6 billion, marking a 30% increase over a year prior. It was also a 7% increase over Q1's 10.9 billion, as spending continues while the pandemic continues to rage.

US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

Games themselves comprised $10.2 billion of that figure (itself a 28% increase y-o-y), with some familiar titles occupying the top spots, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Calls of Duty Warzone and Modern Warfare. The gaming hardware category saw a 57% increase from 2019, with Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One all seeing strong sales.

The Switch isn't a surprise, given shortages experienced earlier in the year. Perhaps a bit more unexpected are continued sales on the PS4 and Xbox One, given that both consoles are set to be eclipsed by next generation devices later in the year. Of course, those upcoming systems aren't doing gamers much good during the current moment of stay at home orders.