U.S. videogame imports ended 2016 on a low note, with Panjiva data the value of shipments dropped 32.4% in December, and 24.8% in the fourth quarter on a year earlier. That came despite the launch of new models of the Sony PlayStation. However, shipment data for January shows a 2.2% growth on a year earlier, suggesting a recovery might be underway.

Shipments based on all HS 9504 products through year end, dollar values specifically HS 9504.50 through December 31Source: Panjiva

The likely driver of this is shipments of the new Nintendo Switch console, which is due to be released March 3. That has led imports of Nintendo products 47.6% higher on a year earlier in January after a 12.1% growth in December. The latter came despite the highly popular NES Classic Mini, and was reflected in a 21% revenue decline in the fourth quarter according to Bloomberg.

Nintendo has certainly outpaced growth for products associated with Sony’s PlayStation (which dropped 23.6% in January) and Microsoft’s Xbox (which were unchanged).

U.S. imported shipments based on keyword search for PlayStation/PS3/PS4, Xbox and Nintendo. Lower panel shows rate of change for Nintendo only Source: Panjiva