NPD: $4.5B Total Video Game Spending In U.S. During Second Quarter

A new report from market research firm The NPD Group shows that the total amount spent by consumers on gaming hardware, content and accessories in the second quarter of the current fiscal year in the U.S. is estimated at $4.5 billion, up 1 percent year-on-year. NPD's Q2 2011 Games Industry: Total Consumer Spend report stated that $1.44 billion was spent in the U.S. on new physical video and PC titles, while consumers spent $1.74 billion total on used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, DLC and mobile games. Hardware and accessories made up the rest of the quarterly total. Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group, noted, "While the new physical retail channel still generates the majority of industry sales, our expanded research coverage allows us to assess the total consumer spend across the growing number of ways to acquire and experience gaming, including mobile apps and downloadable content." In a report yesterday, the NPD noted that digital spending on video games by kids has increased by 17 percent over the last two years.