Brazilians' interest in games skyrocketed during pandemic, according to Comscore

The games sector grew the equivalent of two years in three months in Brazil: in June, 84.1 million users consumed it

17.Aug.2020 14:21 BRT

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo had great results in the second-quarter, the most affected one by the Covid-19 pandemic;
About 122.7 million Brazilians play online games, says Comscore.

Lockdowns to prevent the Covid-19 spread forced Brazilians to stay at home and find leisure options. Many of those have been seeking games to spend their time. According to Comscore consultancy, the games sector grew the equivalent of two years in three months. In June, 84.1 million of the 122.7 million Brazilians that play online games consumed it, reports O Globo.

The newspaper reckons that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo had great results in the second-quarter, the most affected quarter by the pandemic. Compared to the same period in 2019, Sony increased its turnover in the gaming sector by 149%. Between April and June, 91 million PlayStation 4 games were sold, up 83% year-over-year. At Microsoft, the gaming unit’s sales (that gathers sales of consoles, games and subscriptions) skyrocketed 65%.

Nintendo saw orders for the Switch console skyrocket, and the quarantine boosted sales for the blockbuster “Animal crossing: new horizons”. Launched in March, the game sold 12 million copies in 11 days and, in the second quarter, another 10.6 million. The company more than doubled its turnover, to $3.4 billion, and made its profit skyrocket 428%, to $1.4 billion, compared to the same month of 2019, says O Globo.

Brazilians also had a great interest in Perguntados, a mobile game by Etermax which had more than 100 million downloads for Android. O Globo reports that the number of users in Etermax’s games jumped 30% in the year-over-year comparison, and time engagement increased by 20%.