NPD: Nintendo Switch will be the best-selling console this Christmas in the US

During the winter holidays, Americans’ spending on video games will reach $13.4 billion, the NPD Group predicts. One of the most popular gifts for Christmas will be the Switch — the Nintendo console will overtake even the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in sales.

NPD industry analyst Mat Piscatella shared his forecast for November-December 2020 in the United States.

• During these two months, Americans will spend 24% more on games than in the same period of 2019 — $13.4 billion. For comparison, for the whole year, expenses will amount to $50 billion, which will be a new record for the US market;
• one of the most popular Christmas gifts will be the new PS5 or Xbox Series console. But it will be problematic to buy consoles not only at the end of 2020, but also at the beginning of the next one;
• Switch will be no less attractive. Amid the shortage of new-generation consoles, the Nintendo model will be able to collect the largest revenue. But only on condition that the company finally solves the problem with the supply of Switch to the shelves of stores;
• a record surge in demand for gamepads and headsets is also expected during the holidays;
• traditional Christmas and New Year discounts on hardware are unlikely to be high. Summer demand for PS4 and Xbox One led to a reduction in inventory and left no incentive for retailers to arrange global sales;
• The title of the best-selling game of the year will go to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. This will allow the franchise to maintain its sales leadership in the American market for the twelfth year in a row;
• Many games from the PS4 and Xbox One catalogs will also remain popular. All thanks to the development of backward compatibility and a relatively small number of releases for the new generation of consoles;
• subscription services will work well. The main choice of players will be the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate;
• the income of SSD manufacturers for new consoles will also grow, since the memory capacity of the built-in drives is small. Gamers who will start actively using subscriptions or launching game services will want to purchase additional space for this;
• However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may change the situation. Nevertheless, the analyst notes that the US gaming market is sure to set new records this year. The only question is the size of these records — they are harder to predict.

Also on the topic:

• NPD: In August, the US gaming market generated $3.3 billionNPD: spending on video games in the US for the second quarter reached a historic high
• NPD: in March, the US gaming market earned a record $1.59 billion
• Is there any news?