"Game On" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks.
NEW RELEASES: While this week has very few notable new game releases, last week saw launches of three titles from major publishers. On Friday, March 22, players saw the release of Capcom's (CCOEY) open-world role-playing game "Dragon's Dogma 2," which released for PC, PlayStation 5 (SONY), and Xbox Series X/S (MSFT). Also releasing the same day was Nintendo's (NTDOY) platformer "Princess Peach Showtime," which launched exclusively for the Switch, while Sony's (SONY) action game "Rise of the Ronin" also released exclusively for the PS5.
Despite all the new releases, Gamesindustry.biz's Christopher Dring reported that the top-selling physical game in the U.K. for the week was Electronic Arts' (EA) "EA Sports FC," though "Dragon's Dogma 2" came in second. Narrowly missing second place was "Princess Peach Showtime," though Dring noted that the new Nintendo title had a weak launch, coming in lower than February's remake of "Mario vs. Donkey Kong."
CIRCANA FEBRUARY: Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said last week that projected U.S. total spending on video game hardware, content and accessories grew 2% in February compared to the same period last year, to $4.7B. 17% growth in Mobile content spending vs last year helped offset a 30% drop in hardware. To go along with the growth in Mobile, February 2024 consumer spending in the PC, Cloud and Non-Console VR content segment increased by a high single-digit percentage when compared to a year ago, while both the Console as well as the Subscription content segments declined. February video game hardware spending declined 30% when compared to a year ago, to $349M. All console platforms were down a minimum of 19% compared to a year ago. PlayStation 5 led the February and year-to-date hardware market in both unit and dollar sales. Nintendo Switch finished 2nd in unit sales, while Xbox Series placed 2nd in dollars across both time periods. Accessories spending in February grew 25% when compared to a year ago to $219M, driven in part by a 14% increase in Gamepad spending and the new Remote Play Devices accessories segment, which includes PlayStation Portal.
On the software side, Piscatella noted that Sony's "Helldivers II" debuted as the best-selling premium game of the year. The "Helldivers II" launch month dollar sales represent the 7th highest total ever achieved by a Sony published title in the U.S., excluding add-on content. Nearly 60% of "Helldivers II" sales in February came from Steam. Square Enix's (SQNXF) "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth" was the #2 best-selling premium game of February, instantly becoming the 4th best-selling game of 2024 YTD. Also debuting on the chart in February was the "Final Fantasy VII Remake & Rebirth Twin Pack," placing 8th in February and at #16 for the year. Other top-selling games for the month in the U.S. were Bandai Namco's (NCBDY) "Tekken 8," Activision's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III," Warner Bros Discovery's (WBD) "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League," Electronic Arts' "Madden NFL 24," Ubisoft's (UBSFY) "Skull & Bones," and Sega's (SGAMY) "Persona 3: Reload."
APPLE APP STORE POLICIES: Last week, Meta (META), Microsoft, Spotify (SPOT), X, and Match Group (MTCH) filed an amicus brief protesting Apple's (AAPL) plan to charge a commission for payments made outside the App Store, arguing that Apple's response essentially leaves in place the existing rule governing how software makers steer users to alternative options and places new restrictions on app developers, The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Bradley Olson reported. The five tech companies join Epic Games in protesting how Apple has complied with a federal court ruling that ordered Apple to allow alternative payment methods. Investors in Epic include Tencent (TCEHY), KKR (KKR), Disney (DIS), and Sony.
OTHER STORIES TO WATCH:
Capcom
-1.09 (-5.18%)
Sony
+0.88 (+1.02%)
Microsoft
+1.035 (+0.24%)
Nintendo
-0.17 (-1.23%)
Electronic Arts
+0.305 (+0.23%)
Square Enix
-2.33 (-5.55%)
Bandai Namco
-0.174 (-1.83%)
Warner Bros. Discovery
-0.13 (-1.54%)
Ubisoft
+ (+0.00%)
Sega Sammy Holdings
+ (+0.00%)
Meta Platforms
+4.325 (+0.86%)
Spotify
+3.569 (+1.36%)
Match Group
+0.5 (+1.42%)
Apple
+0.24 (+0.14%)
Tencent
+0.04 (+0.11%)
KKR
+0.81 (+0.80%)
Disney
-0.695 (-0.58%)
Take-Two
+0.915 (+0.63%)