2020 has been a tough year for bringing products to market. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed sports seasons, the Olympics, major movie releases, and massive trade shows.

The latest iPhone has been affected too, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) pushed back the release date. However, one major consumer event is still on schedule to happen next month. What is it? It's the highly anticipated release of the newest gaming consoles from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)  and Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE).

Pre-orders for the consoles—Microsoft’s  Xbox Series X and Sony’s PlayStation 5—sold out in just a few hours last month. The $500 price tag did not seem to deter buyers.

The next-generation consoles arrive with videogames, the favorite entertainment source especially these days as many movie theaters closed and Americans still stuck at home with no certain date of returning to the social life we once lived.

According to research firm IDC, U.S. videogame sales are forecasted to rise 19% to $45.6 billion this year. The U.S. film box office, however, peaked at just $11.9 billion in 2018 and has grossed a lowsy $1.9 billion this year.

Shares of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), and Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) are each up at least 24% this year. And if history really does repeat itself, there are plenty more gains to come.

In the technology world, there are few trends that have endured like the videogame console cycle. Every six or so years, brand new inovative machines are unveiled, ushering in a new wave of customers and of course sales. This cycle has repeated for almost three straight decades, with vidoegame publishers reaping much of the reward.

Since Microsoft launched the modern videogame cycle with the first Xbox in 2001, an equal-weighted basket of Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two stocks have returned more than 1,700%, versus 330% for the S&P 500.

When the new consoles are released, the publishers are also benefitting from a more fundamental shift: Now more than ever videogames are more central to the living room.

“This has become an ongoing entertainment business. It is no longer a seasonal business, really,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says. “You shouldn’t look at it any differently than you would look at television or motion-picture distribution, except that our economics are much better.”

Today, Microsoft and Sony are the most invested in videogames than they ever have been. Last month, Microsoft announced it would pay $7.5 billion for ZeniMax Media, which makes popular game franchises Doom and Fallout. The company has estimated annual sales of $700 million. If the deal goes through, it would be the third-largest acquisition in Microsoft’s 45-year history. The only two deals larger were for LinkedIn and Skype Technologies.

Microsoft is hoping to expand the potential videogame market by offering its latest hardware on a subscription basis. Starting next month, the Xbox Series X will be available for monthly payments of $35, lowering the cost of entry, versus the all-in $500 price. A lower-end console, the Xbox Series S, will be $25 monthly. Both options come with online services, including games from EA and Microsoft.

With new hardware boasting improved graphics, storage capabilities, and improved gaming experience, its hard to imagine the videogame industry having a hard time appealing to consumers who have little entertainment options and are increasingly making the gaming console a staple of their entertainment system.

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