GameStop's earnings are up thanks to demand for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

It’s amazing what some new hardware can do for an industry.

Total global sales are up 7 percent from this time last year, GameStop releases in its earnings report for the first fiscal quarter of 2014 (ending on May 3). Total global sales were at $2 billion. Strong demand for new consoles helped spur that growth, showing that after a couple of years of sagging results, the arrival of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are lifting the home-console market, a multibillion-dollar industry. Diluted earnings per share were at $0.59.

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“I am pleased to report solid financial and operational results in the first quarter,” GameStop chief executive officer Paul Raines said in the report. “The next-gen console business is meeting our targets, our digital properties continue to grow, and our new tech brands segment is positively contributing to our profitability. As we discussed at our investor day, GameStop is well positioned to use its strengths to achieve growth from its diversified business segments: gaming, mobile, wireless and consumer electronics.”

GameStop is the largest gaming-focused retail chain in the U.S., but it faces intense competition from megastore likes Walmart and online and digital distributors like Amazon and Steam.

Michael Pachter from analyst firm Wedbush had predicted a total revenue for the quarter of $2.06 billion with earnings per share of $0.61, which wasn’t far off from the actual earnings.

GameStop has greatly benefited from the release of new consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, last November. The retailer also plans to take bigger advantage of the growing mobile market by opening more stores in its Simply Mac, Spring Mobile, and Cricket chains.