All Articles: NPD

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the best-selling game in all of 2012 too

Posted on January 11, 2013 by John Scalzo

As the best-selling game of the month in November and December, Call of Duty: Black Ops II has consistently blown away the competition since its November 13th launch. But seven weeks was all it needed to stand tall as the best-selling game of all of 2012.

The complete list doesn’t include many surprises. Like the list of bestsellers from December 2012, no original games are included in the full-year list. Microsoft’s Halo 4 was the only platform-exclusive title to make the list and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the only 2011 release able to retain its spot in the top ten.

In terms of retail sales, 2012 was a down year for the game industry. Retail sales of games, accessories, and consoles (not counting used games/hardware or downloadable games/content) totaled $13.26 billion, which was off 20% from 2011’s $16.99 billion total. perhaps this Fall’s expected launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 will kickstart the industry in 2013.

The complete 2012 top ten can be found after the break. (more…)

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CoD Black Ops II was the best-selling game of December 2012

Posted on January 10, 2013 by John Scalzo

For the second straight month, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II stands tall as the best-selling game of the month, per The NPD Group’s December 2012 report.

The first person shooter fended off a bevy of sequels including the rest of the top five: Just Dance 4, Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, and Madden NFL 13. In fact, not a single non-sequel cracked the top ten last month.

Once again, The NPD Group is reporting (via Game Informer) that game sales and console sales are down relative to 2011 (which was itself down from 2010). Of course, the NPD Group’s inability to track sales of downloadable games makes this statistic less than helpful.

The full top ten from last month can be found after the break. (more…)

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II nukes the competition in November 2012 NPD report

Posted on December 6, 2012 by John Scalzo

Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Halo 4 set records in November 2012. The Wii U also opened strong with sales of over 400,000 consoles. And the Christmas rush resulted in big numbers for new releases like Assassin’s Creed III, Just Dance 4, and Need For Speed: Most Wanted. But that still didn’t stop The NPD Group from reporting that retail game sales dropped 11% from November 2011.

“Despite an overall retail video game decline of 11 percent, November had the smallest year-over-year decrease we have seen for dollar and unit sales so far this year. This is a sign of momentum going into the December holiday period,” said NPD analyst Liam Callahan.

You can view the complete top ten from last month after the break, and remember, despite what The NPD Group says, the console game market is still in good shape. (more…)

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NBA 2K13 slams it home as the bestselling game of October 2012

Posted on November 9, 2012 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has released their report on the bestselling games of October 2012 and NBA 2K13 has come out on top. The basketball sim’s lack of competition from the now-canceled NBA Live 13 surely pushed it to greater heights and enabled it to hold off other October releases like Resident Evil 6 (#2), Pokemon Black 2 (#3), Dishonored (#4), and Pokemon White 2 (#5).

New releases performed very well in October as Medal of Honor: Warfighter (#8) and Skylanders Giants (#10) also cracked the top ten even though game sales dropped 25% from October 2011. Of course, things like that happen when you’re competing with the one-two punch of Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City.

The full top ten for October 2012 can be found after the break. (more…)

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Madden NFL 13, Borderlands 2 lead all September bestsellers

Posted on October 11, 2012 by John Scalzo

Boom! The annual juggernaut that is the Madden NFL Football has once again taken the top spot for September sales as Madden NFL 13 reigned supreme last month.

Gearbox’s Borderlands 2 followed close behind with strong sales of its own. In fact, they were so strong that the sequel managed to top the first month sales of the original Borderlands by 234%. That is just an insane number.

New releases controlled much of the top ten with FIFA Soccer 13 (#3), Guild Wars 2 (#5), NHL 13 (#6), and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (#7) also performing well.

The full top ten for September 2012 can be found after the break. (more…)

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Darksiders II, NSMB2, Kingdom Hearts 3D reign supreme as August’s bestselling games

Posted on September 7, 2012 by John Scalzo

The Death that stars in Darksiders II isn’t taking a holiday, but he did take the top spot in The NPD Group’s list of bestselling games in August.

Two other August releases, New Super Mario Bros 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, round out the top three, making August the first time all Summer that three new releases lead the bestseller list. New releases Sleeping Dogs (#6) and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (#7) also made the list.

The remainder of the August top ten looks very similar to previous months and you can find it after the break. (more…)

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NCAA Football 13 is the bestselling game of July 2012

Posted on August 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has released their list of the ten bestselling games of July 2012 and, surprising no one, NCAA Football 13 took the top spot.

The football sim was the only new release from the month of July to crack the top ten, but to be fair, there weren’t very many games released last month. Instead, the top ten is populated by holdovers like Lego Batman 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, and two Call of Duty games (Black Ops and Modern Warfare 3). According to Joystiq, this motley crew could only manage sales of $260.7 million, a 23% drop from July 2011’s take of $338.5 million.

The full top ten is available after the break. (more…)

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Lego Batman 2 rises to the top of the June 2012 bestsellers list

Posted on July 12, 2012 by John Scalzo

With editions on seven different platforms, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes rose to the top of The NPD Group’s monthly list of bestselling games. The remainder of the list was split between new releases, May holdovers, and Fall 2011 games that are still popular.

There were only a handful of new games available in June with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (#2), Pokemon Conquest (#7), and The Amazing Spider-Man (#10) all earning spots in the top ten. Grasshopper’s Lollipop Chainsaw didn’t make the cut, continuing Suda 51’s lack of success at the register.

An astounding four games from Fall 2011 continue to sell strongly enough to make the top ten: NBA 2K12 (#5), Batman: Arkham City (#6, boosted by the newly released Game of the Year Edition), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (#8), and Battlefield 3 (#9). I’m sure it helps that all were among the best-reviewed games of last year.

As a whole, game and hardware sales are down 29% from June 2011, according to Joystiq.

A complete list of last month’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)

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