Image Source: Pixabay

The coronavirus outbreak has been a blessing in disguise for the video gaming industry. The pandemic has confined people indoors to minimize human-to-human contact. This in turn has resulted in increased demand for in-house sources of entertainment, driving video games sales.

Notably, consumer spending on video games in the pandemic-stricken 2020 touched a new record of $56.9 billion, rising 27% from 2019, per The NPD Group. Markedly, the latest report from the industry-tracking firm highlights the same story.

Video Game Sales Continue Rising

Recently-released data from The NPD Group reflects that the video game industry, including packaged media, digital, consoles, and accessories, saw strong sales in March, with people spending a total of around $5.6 billion. Notably, the figure has risen 18% year over year.

On the hardware front, consumers spent $680 million, up 47% year over year with Nintendo Co.’s (NTDOY) Switch being the hottest-selling console again. In fact, the Nintendo Switch had stood out as the best-selling hardware platform in units and dollars for last December and the full year of 2020.

In this regard, The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella, Industry Analyst, said that “Nintendo Switch was the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars during the month of March. In the first quarter, the Nintendo Switch was the unit sales leader while the PlayStation 5 ranked first in hardware dollar sales,” per a VentureBeat article.

Going on, Mat Piscatella has also mentioned that “the PlayStation 5 is the fastest-selling console in U.S. history in both unit and dollar sales [through] lifetime sales with five months on the market,” per the article mentioned above. It is worth noting here that the PlayStation 5 had exited 2020 as the second best-selling console in dollar sales, while the PlayStation 4 grabbed the second position in units sold, per the sources.

Notably, users spent around $4.63 billion on Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX, and Subscription across Console, Cloud, Mobile, Portable, PC, and VR platforms) in comparison with $4.06 billion in the year-ago period, per the source. Moreover, $300 million was spent on video game accessories, up 26% year-over-year.

Going on, five of the top 10 games of the month were Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War, Monster Hunter: Rise, Outriders, Super Mario 3D World, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Video Gaming ETFs to Gain

It also seems like the boom in the video gaming space may remain in the post-pandemic era as the outbreak has changed the lifestyle and preferences of Americans to a large extent. Against this backdrop, investors can take a look at the following video gaming ETFs:

The Roundhill BITKRAFT Esports & Digital Entertainment ETF (NERD - Free Report)

The fund is designed to offer investors exposure to esports & digital entertainment by providing investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Roundhill BITKRAFT Esports Index. It holds 35 stocks in its basket. With AUM of $110 million, the fund charges 50 basis points (bps) in expense ratio.

VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ESPO - Free Report)

The fund seeks to replicate, as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MVIS Global Video Gaming and eSports Index, which is intended to track the overall performance of companies involved in video game development, esports, and related hardware and software. It holds 25 stocks in its basket. With AUM of $836.2 million, the fund charges 55 bps in expense ratio.

Wedbush ETFMG Video Game Tech ETF (GAMR - Free Report)

The fund provides pure-play and diversified exposure to a dynamic intersection of technology and entertainment. It also corresponds generally to the price and yield performance of the EEFund Video Game Tech Index. The index is designed to reflect the performance of companies involved in the video game technology industry, including game developers, console and chip manufacturers, and game retailers. It holds 106 stocks in its basket. With AUM of $119.9 million, the fund charges 75 bps in expense ratio.