Americans spend $25.3B each year on video games

American consumers spend more than $25.3 billion a year on video games, both new and used, according to a report released today by market researcher Newzoo.

That number includes how much money is spent on new console and PC games, as well as online transactions and used games. But it doesn’t include sales of brand new game console hardware and accessories in the U.S., which last year included an additional $9.7 billion in spending, according to market researcher NPD.

The Newzoo report includes money that consumers spend on used games, digital distribution games, and online games. These spending amounts aren’t typically counted in retail sales reports. Amsterdam-based Newzoo says that traditional retail game sales are only 54 percent of total game spending. About 46 percent of the money spent on games is on used games, online subscriptions, virtual currency, micro-transactions and digital downloads. That means those categories account for $11.6 billion.

http://games.venturebeat.com/2010/05/09/americans-spend-25-3b-each-year-on-video-games/