Starfield rockets past Mortal Kombat 1 to top spot | Circana September 2023
Starfield was the best-selling game of September 2023 in the U.S. despite some stiff competition, according to industry-tracking firm Circana. It was one of six September game releases that made it into the top 10 of the bestsellers list for the month. The games industry itself saw a 10% increase in sales, though hardware sales took a slight dip year-over-year, and higher spending on games and accessories offset the decline.
“Growth in digital premium download spending across console & PC drove most of the gains,” said Mat Piscatella, Circana’s executive producer for games reports. “Video game hardware spending fell 8% when compared to a year ago, to $451 million. Single-digit percentage growth in consumer spending on Xbox Series hardware was offset by declines across both PlayStation 5 and Switch.”
This continues a trend of hardware sales in decline from the last few months, as 2022’s summer/early autumn period was a boom period after the industry fixed its supply chain issues. Here we see the 8% decline is leveling off slightly, as the August and July had 13% and 19% declines, respectively. While the growth in the gaming market drove the overall growth this month, accessories are also up, similar to last month.
“Year-to-date hardware spending was 10% higher when compared to the same period in 2022, at $3.7 billion,” added Piscatella. “Accessories spending during September increased 11% when compared to a year ago, to $197 million… The PS5 Dual Sense Wireless Controller – Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Limited Edition was the best-selling accessory of the month in consumer spending.”
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