US gaming hardware spending slides in July, near pandemic-era shortages
New Circana data shows US spending on gaming hardware and physical software fell sharply in July, with hardware outlays down 29% year over year and overall hardware spending near July 2020’s pandemic-driven shortages. Physical game sales hit a near-record low for July, while subscriptions rose 6%. Share of new physical game spend skewed toward PlayStation and Nintendo, and the top-seller was Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (port) with other ports also performing well; the combined spend on games, hardware and accessories declined about 10% year over year.
