All Articles: NPD

Diablo III named best-selling game of May 2012 after collecting a ton of loot

Posted on June 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

Can you guess the best-selling game of May 2012 according to The NPD Group’s monthly calculations? Go on, guess, it’s not really a mystery… The best-selling game of May 2012 was Blizzard’s Diablo III.

Diablo III’s loot frenzy was the lone bright spot for the game industry this month as total sales were down 28% from May 2011 with console hardware taking the biggest hit (a 39% drop).

But that’s not for lack of trying. A ton of new releases broke into the top ten this month including Max Payne 3 (#2), Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (#3), Sniper Elite V2 (#7), and Dragon’s Dogma (#9). But I guess they didn’t put up the sales numbers to compete with last May’s biggest game, L.A. Noire.

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

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Prototype 2, Kinect Star Wars lead April 2012 NPD report

Posted on May 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

Activision’s Prototype 2 took the top spot in the latest NPD report of bestselling games. Another new release, the Xbox 360-exclusive Kinect Star Wars, “did the Han Solo” all the way up to #2.

The remainder of the list is overflowing with familiar faces from last Fall including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (#3), NBA 2K12 (#5), and Just Dance 3 (#9). It wasn’t a Fall release, but Mass Effect 3 continues to hold strong at #8 now that the controversy over the game’s ending has come to… an end.

In terms of dollars made, the game industry suffered a 32% drop in overall sales from April 2011 ($630.4 million versus $930.9 million) when Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat ruled the charts.

You can check out the NPD Group’s complete list of bestsellers for April 2012 after the break. (more…)

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Mass Effect 3 tops NPD bestseller report for March 2012

Posted on April 12, 2012 by John Scalzo

Whether you loved Mass Effect 3‘s ending or you hated it, one thing’s for certain, BioWare made a ton of money selling you the game. In what should be a surprise to no one, Mass Effect 3 took the top spot in The NPD Group’s report of the bestselling games in March 2012.

Even though March was a bit of a slow month for new releases, the remainder of the top ten is populated almost totally by games released in the last four weeks including Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (#2), MLB 12: The Show (#3), SSX (#5), Street Fighter X Tekken (#6), Mario Party 9 (#7), Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations (#9), and Major League Baseball 2K12 (#10).

Whew!

Hit the break to see the full top ten, including the pair of holdovers from the February 2012 report. (more…)

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Modern Warfare 3 fends off Final Fantasy XIII-2 in February 2012 NPD ranking

Posted on March 9, 2012 by John Scalzo

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sits atop the NPD’s monthly list of bestselling games for the fourth month in a row. The shooter sequel managed to fend off new releases Final Fantasy XIII-2, UFC Undisputed 3, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which rounded out the top four. Two other new releases managed to make it into the top ten, Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur V (at #7) and Sony’s Twisted Metal reboot (at #9).

The NPD Group didn’t list any Vita games in the top ten during its first month of availability. No 3DS games cracked the top ten either, for that matter.

You can find the complete list of February 2012 bestsellers after the break. (more…)

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With no new releases, Modern Warfare 3 leads the January 2012 NPD report

Posted on February 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

With their January 31 release date, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V missed the cutoff date for the monthly NPD report, so Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 emerges victorious once again.

Infinity Ward’s latest shooter was followed by string of titles that have been racking up big sales all Winter including Just Dance 3 (#2), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (#3), NBA 2K12 (#4), and Battlefield 3 (#5). And a #8 finish for Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure capped off a strong 2011 for the toy/video game hybrid, including 22% of all accessory sales.

With no major new releases last month, game and hardware sales for January 2012 dropped 38% from the year before when Dead Space 2, which explains the large number of holdovers from 2011.

You can find the complete top ten for January 2012 after the break. (more…)

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Shocker: Modern Warfare 3 leads December NPD list

Posted on January 13, 2012 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has released their list of the bestselling games in December and, once again, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 tops the list. The shooter was joined in the top ten by its comrade in arms, Battlefield 3, which gunned down the number five slot.

The rest of the list includes a cross-section of some of this year’s absolute biggest games including Just Dance 3 at #2, Skyrim at #3, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations at #7, and Batman: Arkham City at #10. And Nintendo’s 3DS is finally coming alive with two titles in the top ten: Mario Kart 7 at #4 and Super Mario 3D Land at #9.

Here’s the complete NPD Top Ten for the month of December 2011:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. Just Dance 3 (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3)
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
5. Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
6. Madden NFL 12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
7. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. NBA 2K12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
9. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
10. Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

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Obvious News Alert! Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim top November NPD list

Posted on December 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has released their report of the best-selling games in November 2011 and in a stunning upset, the number one spot went to… Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

OK, a stunning upset that is not. And the rest of the top ten wasn’t any more surprising as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim breathed fire on the number two spot and Battlefield 3 was redeployed to the front as the third best-selling game in November.

The industry’s biggest month was able to supply even more new releases for the list as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (#4), Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (#7), Saints Row: The Third (#8), and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (#9) all earned a spot on the top ten.

In fact, November 2011 turned out to be one of the biggest months for game sales ever. Anita Frazier, a spokesperson for The NPD Group, said, “This November marks the best November on record for sales of new physical content.”

Here’s the full top ten:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC)
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
5. Just Dance 3 (Wii, Xbox 360)
6. Madden NFL 12 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
7. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
8. Saints Row: The Third (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
10. Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

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Battlefield 3 blows away the competition in October NPD report

Posted on November 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has released their report on the ten bestselling titles in October and, not surprisingly, Battlefield 3 takes the top spot. EA’s modern warfare sim likely won’t hold onto the crown for long as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was released to record-breaking sales earlier this week.

Battlefield 3 was followed by a slew of new releases including Batman: Arkham City, NBA 2K12, Rage, Just Dance 3, Dark Souls, and Forza Motorsport 4. That’s right, the brutal action RPG Dark Souls outsold Microsoft’s big racing franchise.

Holdovers for this month include Madden NFL 12, Gears of War 3, and that other football game, FIFA Soccer 12. The complete top ten for October can be found after the break. (more…)

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