U.S. video game industry sets sales record in 1st quarter as players stay home

By Aaron Mamiit Published April 25, 2023

The coronavirus pandemic has severely affected various businesses around the world, but there is at least one industry that has benefited from people staying at home to avoid COVID-19 — video games.

Total consumer spending on video games in the U.S. for the first quarter of the year set a new record of $10.86 billion, which is 9% higher compared with total spending in the same quarter of 2019, according to a report from The NPD Group.

Of the total, $9.58 billion was spent on video game content, an 11% increase compared with the first quarter last year. NPD mentioned Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, DOOM Eternal, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, MLB The Show 20 and NBA 2K20 as among the best-performing games in the record-breaking quarter.

There were some declines in certain hardware platforms, according to NPD, but those were offset by strong sales for the Nintendo Switch. The hybrid console led the hardware market with a 2% increase in sales to $773 million. Sales of gaming accessories, which includes gamepads and headsets, were also up, improving 1% to $503 million.

“Video games have brought comfort and connection to millions during this challenging time,” said NPD games industry analyst Mat Piscatella in a statement. “As people have stayed at home more, they’ve utilized gaming not only as a diversion and an escape, but also as a means of staying connected with family and friends. Whether it was on console or mobile, PC or virtual reality, gaming experienced play and sales growth during the first quarter.”

Animal Crossing: New Horizons hype

Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch, the latest entry in the adorable series, helped drive the industry to its record sales numbers in the first quarter, despite being available for less than two weeks in the period.

The game had the best launch of any title on the console, with over 11 million copies sold in its first 11 days after its March 20 release. It also boosted hardware sales, with Nintendo claiming in its fiscal year results that demand for the Nintendo Switch reached holiday levels when Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched in Japan.

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"Players can be excited about some remakes, which will allow us to revisit some of the games we've created in the past and modernize them," he says, implying that it could pertain to games made before Odyssey. "There are worlds in some of our older Assassin's Creed games that are still extremely rich."

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Surfaced patent shows what an Xbox streaming console would’ve looked like

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The patent, first spotted by Windows Central, gives us a more complete view of the device. We've previously seen the Keystone in the flesh. Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer is known for hiding teases and interesting collectibles on the shelf in his office. In a 2022 X (formerly Twitter) post congratulating Bethesda on Fallout's 25th anniversary, you can see a small white device on the top shelf that's actually a Keystone prototype. Xbox told Digital Trends that it was a version of the device made before it decided to "refocus our efforts on a new approach.”

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Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for June 28

Someone playing Wordle on a smartphone.

We have the solution to Wordle on June 28, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "ORDER." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.
Hints for today's Wordle
Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter D.
Today’s Wordle uses two vowels.
Today's Wordle can refer to a large number of animals, particularly livestock like cattle or sheep, that are moving together in a group.