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All Articles: NPD
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare blows away the competition as the best-selling game of October 2019
According to The NPD Group (via Twitter), yet another Call of Duty game has debuted as the best-selling game in the US during its first month on sale for the 12th straight year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare blew away the competition in October, and it has also settled in as the best-selling of 2019 (so far). And if history is any guide, it will likely remain in that spot throughout November and December.
But there were plenty of other titles that debuted last month that also managed to resonate with gamers.
Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds debuted at #2, and it was followed closely by Nintendo’s Luigi’s Mansion 3 at #3. Rounding out the top ten (at #10) was Nintendo’s exercise RPG, Ring Fit Adventure. Going further down the list, Overwatch‘s Switch debut helped push it back into the spotlight (and the #16 slot).
Overall, the game industry has tallied $9.3 billion in sales through the first ten months of the year, a roughly 10% drop from 2018.
You can find the full list of best-selling games from October 2019 after the break. (more…)
NBA 2K20 is the best-selling game from September 2019
It long ago become an annual tradition, but the latest entry in 2K’s NBA 2K franchise absolutely dominated the sales charts in September. According to The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella (via Twitter), NBA 2K20 was not only the best-selling game from last month, but it also currently sits atop the list as the best-selling game for all of 2019 (dethroning Mortal Kombat 11).
But it’ll face some stiff competition throughout the rest of the year as a big batch of new releases took over the Top 10 including Borderlands 3 (#2), FIFA 20 (#3), The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (#4), Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (#6), Code Vein (#8), and NHL 20 (#9). Microsoft’s Gears 5, which was also available to download through the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, managed to make its way onto the list at #7.
However, the most surprising addition to this month’s list might be EA’s Plants Vs Zombies: Battle For Neighborville, which is currently only available as an Early Access download on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. We can expect it’s profile to rise next month as the game will make its retail debut on store shelves tomorrow.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from last month after the break. (more…)
Madden NFL 20 goes back-to-back as the best-selling game of August 2019
The month of August was fairly light on new releases, so naturally, it looks like the game industry went through a lighter period on the business side of things as well.
According to The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella (via Twitter), EA Sports’s Madden NFL 20 topped the list the best-selling titles for the month, repeating its victory from July (I guess you could say the developer went for two). The rest of the Top 20 was littered with repeat entries, but most surprisingly of all is that Minecraft earned the #2 spot, more than seven years after its retail debut.
The other big story to come out of the Top 20 was Nintendo’s continued dominance of the Summer. The consolemaker placed nine Switch games in the Top 20, including Platinum’s latest project, Astral Chain, at #10. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (#4), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (#5), Super Mario Maker 2 (#6), Mario Kart 8 (#7), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#12), Super Mario Party (#16), Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (#17), and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (#18) were the other Nintendo titles to crack the list.
However, the overall industry felt a bit of a dip in August 2019, totaling $666 million in sales, an 18% drop versus August 2018.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from last month after the break. (more…)
Mighty Madden NFL 20 was the best-selling game in July 2019
The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella (via Twitter) has delivered the analyst company’s report on the best-selling games from July 2019, and unsurprisingly, EA Sports’s Madden NFL 20 took the top spot.
A sales juggernaut for nearly three decades now, the latest entry in the Madden franchise was able to fend off a major offensive from Nintendo that included two new games and several holdovers from earlier this year. Fire Emblem: Three Houses topped Nintendo’s July output, coming in at #2. It was followed two spots later at #4 by fellow new release Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. June’s Super Mario Maker 2 was sandwiched in between at #3.
Several other Nintendo-published titles populated the Top 20, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (#7), Mario Kart 8 (#9), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#10), and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (#18). In addition to its software supremacy, the Nintendo Switch was also the best-selling console platform last month.
The entire game industry (hardware, software, and accessories) recorded $762 million in sales last month, a slight increase over July 2018’s total of $759 million.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from July 2019 after the break. (more…)
Super Mario Maker 2 builds its way to the top of June 2019’s list of best-selling games
It was only available on store shelves for a handful days during the month, but Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker 2 has been crowned the best-selling game of June 2019 by The NPD Group.
According to the analyst firm’s rankings (as posted by NPD’s Mat Piscatella on Twitter), Super Mario Maker 2 fended off a challenge by fellow new release Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled (which took the #2 spot) to come out on top, as well as surging sales from Mortal Kombat 11 (#3), Grand Theft Auto V (#4), and Minecraft (#5). No other new release managed to break into the Top 20, but more mainstays filled out the rest of the list, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (#6), Mario Kart 8 (#9), Red Dead Redemption 2 (#12), and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#13).
However, without a robust new release slate, overall sales for the gaming industry dropped slightly in June 2019 versus a year ago. According to NPD, total sales of hardware, software, and accessories reached $959 million last month, a 13% decline from June 2018.
Unsurprisingly, the Switch was the best-selling hardware platform last month, and that’s unlikely to change throughout the year as the launch of the Switch Lite approaches and as gamers continue to save their pennies for the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from June 2019 after the break. (more…)
Mortal Kombat 11 wins back-to-back rounds as the best-selling game of May 2019
Analyst Mat Piscatella came out of hibernation last night to share a look (via Twitter) at The NPD Group’s report on the best-selling games from May 2019. Once again, NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 11 landed on the top of the list, and it’s now the best-selling game for all of 2019.
Days Gone managed to hold its position as the runner-up for the month of May, fighting off PC-exclusive Total War: Three Kingdoms (which proved popular enough to slide into the #3 spot) and fellow new release Rage 2 (#4). Perennial favorite Grand Theft Auto V rounded out the Top 5 in the #5 slot.
This year’s most popular titles played musical chairs throughout the remainder of last month’s Top 20. Some went up (Minecraft went from #14 to #9) while some were trending down (Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 dropped from #4 to #12).
The Switch was the best-selling console platform in May and as the PS4 and Xbox One continue to ride off into the sunset, it’s also remained the best-selling for the 2019 calendar year.
Overall, total industry sales were done 11% versus May 2018, but that can probably be chalked up to a paltry selection of new releases last month. You can find a full list of best-selling games from May 2019 after the break. (more…)
Mortal Kombat 11 was the best-selling game on all platforms in April 2019
The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella has given us a look (via Twitter) at the best-selling games from April 2019.
Unsurprisingly, Mortal Kombat 11 KOed the competition as the top game during the period. And according to Piscatella, NetherRealm’s fighter also became the first game to sit atop the charts as the best-selling individual game on the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in the same the month.
Not far behind was Sony’s Days Gone. The post-apocalyptic action game was developed by Sony Bend, and while it might have been overshadowed by some of the other titles in the consolemaker’s catalog, it landed in the #2 spot for April.
The remainder of April’s best-selling games chart is made up of a lot of titles we’ve seen before, including recent releases MLB 19: The Show (#3), Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (#4), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (#7), and perennial mainstays Grand Theft Auto V (#6) and Minecraft (#14).
You can find a full list of best-selling games from April 2019 after the break. (more…)
Kingdom Hearts III, Resident Evil 2, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe unsurprisingly lead NPD’s list of best-selling games from January 2019
Kingdom Hearts fans were kept waiting more than a decade for the third game in the franchise, but Square Enix finally rewarded their patience with the launch of Kingdom Hearts III last month. As you might have guessed, fans purchased the game in droves, pushing it all the way to the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games from January 2019.
Two highly-anticipated re-releases, Resident Evil 2 (#2) and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (#3) were close behind, and Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (#7) and Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (#12) also cracked the top 20.
However, while several games had strong starts on the sales chart, the industry overall suffered a decline last month versus January 2018. All together, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that total sales (hardware, software, and accessories) were down 19% to $893 million.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from January 2019 after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, FIFA 19, Grand Theft Auto V, Kingdom Hearts III, Madden NFL 19, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, NBA 2K19, NPD, Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil 2, Spider-Man, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tales of Vesperia, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild