PlayStation led game industry TV ad impressions again, but Nintendo nips at its heels

Spending on game ads are flat despite the U.S. consumers continuing to face stay-at-home orders during the pandemic and the return of baseball, basketball, and hockey broadcasts, though these numbers should increase as soon as Microsoft and Sony start pitching their next-generation consoles (the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5) on TV.

From mid-July to mid-August, the game industry showed a small uptick in TV ad impressions (3.8%) compared to the previous 30-day period, and a slight decrease (down 0.13%) in estimated spend as well. Overall, 11 gaming brands spent an estimated $15.3 million airing 37 spots over 4,800 times, while generating 817.5 million ad impressions from July 16 through August 15.