Video game spending hits record $56.9 billion in 2020

With many Americans stuck at home last year due to the pandemic, spending on video games hit a new record. Total video game spending in 2020 hit $56.9 billion, up 27% higher than the previous year, says research firm NPD Group. Consumer spending last December, an important month for the industry with holiday shopping in full swing, reached a record $7.7 billion, a 25% increase from 2019. Last year also saw the arrivals of new video game hardware: Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series S/X. Both devices launched in November. Mat Piscatella, executive director and video game industry advisor for NPD Group, said on Twitter spending in December "could have been significantly bigger" if not for constraints on the supply of PS5s and Xboxes.