US gamers spent around $3.45 billion in Q3, reports NPD

Gamers in the US spent around $3.45 billion in Q3 2013 (July-September), according to NPD figures.

That represents a 17 per cent rise on the total games spend during the same period last year.

Sales of new physical console and PC game software reached approximately $1.30 billion during the quarter, boosted 20 per cent YoY by the release of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V in September, notes the industry tracking firm.

Digital content sales, including full game and add-on content downloads, subscriptions, mobile games and social network games, topped that figure at $1.72 billion, according to NPD's estimates. Digital full game and DLC sales were up 35 per cent.

Spend on physical used and rental games was around $436 million.

"Trends during the third quarter were the best that we have observed since the second quarter of 2011, driven by growth across both the physical and digital sides of the video game industry," commented industry analyst Liam Callahan.

"The launch of Grand Theft Auto V helped propel the new physical sales by twenty percent and continued growth of console digital full games as well as downloadable add-on content is an indication of the renewed health of the industry. We expect that the launches of Microsoft's Xbox One and the Sony PS4 will continue to fuel consumer excitement and spending for games heading into the holiday season."

Rockstar said it set records with Grand Theft Auto 5, reaching $1 billion in global retail sales in just three days.

The game also broke sales records in UK, claiming its place as thebiggest game launch in UK history with around 1.57 million sales, according to Chart Track figures.