Mat Piscatella (Circana) on Game Sales Data, Game Pass & Console Future | XEP Interview

#Interview #GamingNews #ConsoleSales Mat Piscatella, Executive Director for Games at Circana (formerly NPD), joins Xbox Expansion Pass to explain how game sales, engagement, and spending are really tracked — and what the data actually means for players, devs, and publishers. We dig into how Circana gets its numbers across physical, digital, DLC, microtransactions and subscriptions, why engagement charts vs sales charts tell different stories, and how Game Pass, PS Plus, and live-service giants like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft disrupt traditional success metrics. 👉 Clear takes. No console-war noise. 🔊 iTunes: apple.co/2OL6SSV | Spotify: spoti.fi/33gSiXa 📅 Timestamps are in the chapters below 🎧 Join us live Saturdays on YouTube 💬 Share your thoughts in the comments — we read them all. 00:00 – Intro – Mat Piscatella (Circana, formerly NPD) explains game sales data 01:40 – How Circana tracks physical, digital, DLC & microtransactions 04:50 – Success metrics: units sold vs MAU, revenue & engagement 07:55 – Game Pass & PS Plus: do subscription services help or hurt? 12:30 – Live-service dominance: Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft & player time 16:50 – Why new games struggle to stand out in 2025’s market 20:45 – AAA risk, AA hits & why some launches (like Suicide Squad) flop 25:55 – Remasters vs new IP: why publishers keep choosing safe bets 30:45 – Console sales are flat: what a “mature market” really means 34:50 – Switch 2 expectations & impact of GTA 6 moving out of 2025 38:30 – Layoffs, investment drying up & ‘no room for error’ in game dev 42:50 – Xbox, PlayStation & Nintendo: three different console strategies 46:10 – What Mat expects from Summer Game Fest 49:55 – Biggest misconceptions about game sales data