Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has web-slung its way to the top, becoming the best-selling game of October in the U.S., surpassing other hit titles like Hogwarts Legacy and Madden NFL 24. Insomniac Games' PS5 exclusive not only saw over five million copies sold in just 11 days but also set a record for the fastest-selling game from PlayStation Studios with 2.5 million copies on its first day. Circana's data highlights the game's significant physical software dollar sales, even outperforming its predecessor from September 2018.

Competing closely, Super Mario Bros. Wonder made a successful debut as the second top-selling game for October, riding the wave of the Super Mario Bros. Movie's success and claiming the title of the fastest-selling game in the 2D Mario series. Consumer interest in video game content dipped slightly by 4% to $3.6 billion compared to the previous year, which the data suggests is due to the significant launch of last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

On the hardware front, PlayStation 5 continues to reign as the top-selling console in both unit and dollar sales for October, while video game hardware spending saw a 23% drop, attributed to a decrease in current generation console sales. Nevertheless, year-to-date hardware spending has seen a 6% increase to $4 billion compared to 2022. All eyes are on the PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo aim for high sales targets this holiday season, with Sony introducing the PS5 Slim in hopes of boosting figures amidst speculations of a 2024 release for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Additionally, the gaming industry is keeping tabs on the PlayStation launch of Roblox, which has quickly climbed to the fourth rank in monthly active users on PS5 in the U.S. As the holiday season approaches, the big three of gaming are preparing for Black Friday and other sales opportunities, with ambitious targets such as Sony's 25 million PS5 units set for this financial year.