"According to the Q3 2018 Games Market Dynamics: U.S. report from leading global information company The NPD Group, overall total industry consumer spending on video gaming in the U.S. reached $9.1 billion in the third quarter of 2018 (July-​Sept.), an increase of 24% compared to the same time period last year."

"Video game content sales increased 25% to $7.9 billion. All content categories, which include full-​game, DLC/​MTX, subscriptions, and mobile saw increases, with mobile games and digital content for console and portable platforms experiencing the most growth."

"The software titles having the most positive impact on dollar sales in the third quarter of the year include (listed alphabetically) Candy Crush Saga, Fortnite, Madden NFL 19, Marvel's Spider-​Man and NBA 2K19.

According to AudienceSCAN, 23.4% of Video Game Console Shoppers have seen social network postings that weren't advertisements that led them to take action. On top of that, they're also 87% more likely than other adults to find advertising on social networks useful to them. These shoppers are active on Facebook (84.7%), YouTube (81.3%), Twitter (58.9%) and Instagram (58.5%).

"Hardware sales grew 11% in the quarter to $737 million, led by Xbox One, PS4 and Plug & Play devices like NES Classic and SNES Classic. Accessory sales* grew 44% in Q3 2018 when compared to a year ago, with headset and game card sales setting all-​time records in Q3 dollar spending. Game cards sales reached a record high, growing 63% to surpass accessories for the first time in the third quarter of a calendar year."

“'The Video Game market in the U.S. continues to thrive with compelling gaming content expanding the market, driving higher spending of hardware, accessory and software,' said Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group. 'And with the sales strength of recent releases such as Marvel's Spider-​Man and NBA 2K19, combined with cross-​platform titles such as Fortnite, there appears to be no slowing down as we head into the final stretch of the holiday shopping season.'”

According to AudienceSCAN, 16% of Video Game Console Shoppers believe that mailed ads/​flyers are the best source for comparing prices and, last year, 60.6% took action after receiving direct mail coupons or ads. They're also 24% more likely than other adults to take action after seeing ads on daily deals websites, such as Groupon. These consumers can also be advertised to through other digital means, including email (56.4% took action in the past year after receiving an email ad) and either mobile smartphone app or text ads (60.2%). They're also 46% more likely than other adults to click on text link ads on websites. TV is also an effective advertising medium, causing 73.1% of this audience to take action after seeing commercials last year.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.