Videogame sales rise 5% as EA Sports, Nintendo, mobile lift numbers

[Gamers Line Up As New Nintendo Switch 2 Goes On Sale]

U.S. videogame sales rose 5% year-over-year in July, helping 2025 sales start to catch up to 2024's pace, thanks in part to new games from EA Sports (NASDAQ:EA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EA]) and Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NTDOY]) and the ongoing sales push from the summer's new Switch 2 console.

Overall sales rose to $5.05B for July, according to research group Circana. That total rose from $4.82B in July 2024.

As usual, the bulk of sales comes in game content, where spending rose 4% to $4.48B from a year-ago $4.3B. But, goosed by the new Switch (OTCPK:NTDOY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NTDOY]), hardware sales jumped 21% year-over-year to $384M, while accessories sales fell 8% to $187M, according to the new report.

On a year-to-date basis, total videogame sales of $32.59B are now down just 1% from the 2024 total through July. Over that same interval, content sales are off 2% to $28.67B, hardware sales are up 18% to $2.47B, and accessories sales are down 6% to $1.45B.

On hardware: The Switch 2 (OTCPK:NTDOY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NTDOY]), released in June, was the story; it was the best-selling console in both unit and dollar terms, both for July and for 2025 year-to-date. With a hot new console on the block, dollar sales of the rival PlayStation 5 (SONY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SONY]) fell 47%, while Xbox Series (MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]) slipped 69%, and spending on Nintendo's first-generation Switch fell 52%.

The $384M in hardware spending was the most in a July month since July 2008, when the total was $441M, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella noted.

As for accessories, the Switch 2 Pro Controller (OTCPK:NTDOY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NTDOY]) became the year's best-seller in unit and dollar terms.

In content, a drop in console sales was more than made up for by mobile and nonmobile subscription spending. Four new games topped the monthly sales chart, led by _EA Sports College Football 26_ (NASDAQ:EA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EA]) and the _EA Sports MVP Bundle_ (EA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EA]). Those were followed by two other debuts: _Donkey Kong Bananza_ (OTCPK:NTDOY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NTDOY]) and _Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4_ (MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]).

Rounding out the July top 10 in games: No. 5, _Call of Duty: Black Ops 6_ (MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]); No. 6, _Minecraft;_ No. 7, _Forza Horizon 5_ (MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]); No. 8, _Grounded 2_ (MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]); No. 9, _Red Dead Redemption II_ (TTWO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TTWO]); and No. 10, _Grand Theft Auto V_ (TTWO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TTWO]).

Mobile game spending rose 7% year-over-year in July, according to Sensor Tower, with the most notable jump into the top 10 coming from Garena's _Free Fire_ (SE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SE]), up seven spots to become the top mobile shooter in U.S. spending.

The month's top 10 mobile games by U.S. consumer spending: _MONOPOLY GO!, Royal Match, Last War: Survival, Candy Crush Saga_ (MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]), _Whiteout Survival, Free Fire_ (SE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SE]), _Clash Royale_ (OTCPK:TCEHY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TCEHY]), _Kingshot, Township,_ and _Royal Kingdom._

Related tickers: OTCPK:NTDOY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NTDOY], SONY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SONY], MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT], TBCH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TBCH], LOGI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LOGI], CRSR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CRSR], EA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EA], TTWO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TTWO], WBD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/WBD], OTCPK:UBSFY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UBSFY], OTCPK:NCBDY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NCBDY], OTCPK:SQNNY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SQNNY], OTCPK:CCOEY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CCOEY], OTCPK:SGAMY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SGAMY], OTCPK:KONMY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/KONMY], OTCPK:NEXOY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NEXOY], SKLZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SKLZ], SE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SE], NTES [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NTES], OTCPK:TCEHY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TCEHY], RBLX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RBLX]. Retail stock: GME [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GME].

ETFs: GAMR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GAMR], ESPO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ESPO], NERD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NERD]

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