A new press release issued this morning by The NPD Group paints a rosy picture for the gaming industry in the United States, pointing out that engagement is significantly up in terms of participation, time, and spend. According to the NPD’s 2023 Evolution of Entertainment report, four out of five U.S. consumers have played at least one game in the last six months. Additionally, the total time spent gaming went up 26% year-over-year while total consumer spend increase even more by comparison (33%).

The growth is apparently consistent across all platforms, although mobile devices still registered the largest growth, likely because almost everyone has access to a smartphone these days. Even so, gaming consoles also saw ‘notable increases’, according to the NPD.

Interestingly, this does not just apply to traditional segments such as younger consumers. Even adults that are between 45 and 54 years old registered a massive increase of 59% in time spent gaming, while their gaming spend jumped by 76%. Much the same can be said about the user group of consumers between 55 and 64 years old, as those increased the time and money spent on videogames by 48% and 73%, respectively. Lastly, even people who are over 65 years old played 45% more and spent 29% more this year.

Of course, this isn’t entirely surprising due to the multiple lockdown measures instituted worldwide in order to apply social distancing against the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve been covering record sales and figures all year long, and many companies have claimed they’ve seen lots of new gaming users brought in by the circumstances.

Mat Piscatella, video game industry analyst for The NPD Group, stated:

This year, video games is one of the most consistent growth categories in terms of overall participation and investment relative to 2023. This may simply reflect an acceleration of trends that were in effect prior to the pandemic. If this is the case, then the gaming market could experience continued growth without a post-pandemic pullback. If not, however, we may see a post-pandemic valley before returning to growth. It all rests on engagement.

Do you think gaming will continue its rise as the biggest entertainment medium? Let us know in the comments below.