<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[GameUP24]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://gameup24.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[William A.]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://gameup24.wordpress.com/author/louzwate/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Video Game Sales See A Huge Increase During First Half Of 2018 In&nbsp;US]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<div><img src='https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/screen_medium/1585/15855271/3432428-3412684-fortnite%2Bseason%2B5%2Bcharacters.jpg' style='max-width:600px;' /></p>
<div><img src="https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/screen_kubrick/1585/15855271/3432428-3412684-fortnite%2Bseason%2B5%2Bcharacters.jpg" title="Video Game Sales See A Huge Increase During First Half Of 2018 In US - GameSpot"></p>
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<p>Total consumer spending on video games in the U.S. has reached almost $20 billion for the first half of the year, according to a report from tracking firm NPD. This marks a 40% increase over the same period last year. The analytics report noted that all categories increased, but mobile games experienced the most growth of any individual category.</p>
<p>Content sales made up $16.9 billion of the $19.5 billion figure. That includes full game sales, DLC and microtransactions, and subscriptions. The handful of games that made the most impact were (alphabetically) <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/candy-crush-saga/">Candy Crush</a>, <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/far-cry-5/">Far Cry 5</a>, <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/fortnite/">Fortnite</a>, <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/god-of-war/">God of War</a>, <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/playerunknowns-battlegrounds/">PlayerUnknown&#8217;s Battlegrounds</a>, and <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/roblox/">Roblox</a>. Notably three of those top earners are free-to-play games, showing how much impact the pricing model can have.</p>
<p>In addition, spending on hardware hit a 7-year high, reaching $1.7 billion in the first half of the year. NPD attributes this to strong sales of Xbox One and standalone plug-and-play devices like Nintendo&#8217;s Super NES Classic Edition. Accessories also increased 41% year-over-year during the period.</p>
<p>We had caught wind of strong sales for both <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-sales-pass-80-million-units-as-god-of-war-exce/1100-6460866/">God of War</a> and <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/far-cry-5-is-the-series-fastest-selling-game-ever/1100-6457933/">Far Cry 5</a>, so it&#8217;s no surprise to see both of them making an impact. Fortnite is <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fortnite-mobile-is-shaping-up-to-be-a-huge-success/1100-6458385/">still a massive success</a> and likely drove a significant cut of those content sales. And while casual mobile games like Candy Crush and Roblox get less fanfare from the core gaming audience, they&#8217;re still huge profit drivers for their respective companies.</p>
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<p><em>Source: <a style="text-decoration:none;" href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/video-game-sales-see-a-huge-increase-during-first-/1100-6461501/">GameSpot &#8211; All Content</a></em></div>
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