Warp Zoned Presents
All Articles: NPD
Red Dead Redemption 2 cowboys up as the best-selling game of 2018
A wise man once said, “When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.” And that’s exactly what Rockstar Games did with Red Dead Redemption 2.
The publisher’s western epic has been nine years in the making, and it blew away all expectations (and chased every other big release away from its October 26 launch date) as the best-selling game in November. Now, The NPD Group has revealed that it’s also the best-selling game for all of 2018.
Activision’s mighty Call of Duty franchise claimed the #2 spot with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and many of the other usual suspects can be found throughout the top ten including NBA 2K19 (#3), Madden NFL 19 (#4), Far Cry 5 (#7), and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (#10).
It was also a good year all around for single-player games as Spider-Man (#6) and God of War both cracked the top ten. Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was also able to break into the top five (at #5) after only being on sale for a few weeks. Finally, the surprising success of Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World helped the latest entry in the franchise come in at #9.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, the NPD Group said that the entire game industry generated $16.7 billion in sales in 2018, a 13% increase over 2017. That includes a 33% increase for accessories, as a 7% increase for software, and 8% for hardware. On that note, the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console of 2018.
The NPD’s Top 10 best-selling games for 2018 (in handy list format) can be found after the break. (more…)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate beats up the competition as the best-selling game from December 2018
Even though it’s one of Nintendo’s marquee properties, the Smash Bros. series has always drifted a bit below the radar of the average gamer. That is definitely no longer the case, as The NPD Group revealed the best-selling games from December 2018 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate absolutely blew away the competition.
In fact, the tracking firm told GamesIndustry.biz that Smash Bros. Ultimate had a record-setting debut, and set a new “Launch Month” sales record for a platform exclusive. More impressive, it set this record even though Nintendo doesn’t share digital sales data with The NPD Group.
With the gift-giving season in full swing, some of 2018’s biggest games populated the rest of the list. Red Dead Redemption II slid down to #2, and it was followed by Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (#3), Battlefield V (#4), and NBA 2K19 (#5).
Nintendo dominated the back half of the top ten, with three more titles on the list… Mario Kart 8 (#6), Super Mario Party (#8), and Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu (#9). Madden NFL 19 (#7) and Insomniac’s Spider-Man (#10) rounded out the top ten.
A complete look at The NPD Group’s list of the best-selling games from last month (in handy list format) can be found after the break. (more…)
Red Dead Redemption 2 was the best-selling game of November 2018
It took an extra month, but Red Dead Redemption 2 is finally perched atop the NPD’s monthly best-seller list.
According to the tracking firm (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz), Rockstar’s open world epic was November’s best-selling game, topping such contenders as Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (#2), Battlefield V (#3), and Fallout 76 (#4). Other new releases in the top ten include Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu (#4), Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee (#5), and Spyro Reignited Trilogy (#5).
But the most important statistic in the NPD’s November report was on the hardware side of things, as the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One all sold over 1.3 million consoles. It’s the first time ever that three console platforms each sold more than a million units in a calendar month. All told, US consumers purchased more than $3.9 billion worth of video game hardware in November.
A complete look at The NPD Group’s list of the best-selling games from last month can be found after the break. (more…)
CoD: Black Ops 4 comes out on top against Red Dead Redemption 2 in October 2018’s ranking of best-selling games
Once Red Dead Redemption 2 staked a claim on October 26, game publishers ran screaming in the other direction. Ubisoft notably subtracted three weeks from the usual late October launch for the new entries in the Assassin’s Creed series, and Activision pushed the release of the latest entry in the Call of Duty franchise up a full month from its typical early November slot.
But it looks like Activision’s gamble paid off, as The NPD Group has revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was last month’s best-selling game. And at #3, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey also performed well in its earlier launch window. Red Dead Redemption 2, which was only on sale for nine days during the sale period, galloped away with the #2 spot.
The NPD Group further noted (via GamesIndustry.biz) that Black Ops 4 is now the owner of the eighth-best launch month (in dollar sales) since they began tracking video game sales in 1995. As you might have guessed, that means its also currently the best-selling game of the year. And it’ll probably hang on to that title through November and December, but it’s hard to completely count out Rockstar Games.
A complete look at The NPD Group’s list of the best-selling games from last month can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, FIFA 19, Madden NFL 19, NBA 2K19, NPD, Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, Super Mario Party, WWE 2K19
The NPD Group shares list of best-selling games on PS4, Xbox One, and Vita… also the Saturn, PS1, N64, GBC, and Dreamcast
The NPD Group has never been too keen on sharing their historical lists of best-selling games, but that might be changing. Using data from the analyst firm’s vast archive, Mat Piscatella recently tried to pull back the curtain a little bit by sharing the list of best-selling games on several legacy consoles (the Saturn, the original PlayStation, the Nintendo 64, the Game Boy Color, and the Dreamcast) and a nearly defunct handheld (the Vita). He also examined the best-selling games through September 2018 on two modern consoles (the PS4 and Xbox One) and published a list of the top-selling titles for each year from 1995 to 2017.
It’s a very interesting collection of information, and the lists provide our best window yet into what games were considered popular in the United States in the 1990s and into today. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Retro, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Crash Bandicoot, Grand Theft Auto V, NPD, Super Mario 64, Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Spider-Man swings into view as the best-selling game from September 2018 (and the biggest PlayStation-exclusive launch ever)
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, sells much better than 2K can… Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man!
Insomniac’s Spider-Man was already swinging pretty high prior to its September 7th launch, but according to The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz) the superhero game is also the best-selling game of last month and the biggest PlayStation-exclusive launch ever. Oh, and it also performed 37% better than “the combined launch month sales for all other Spider-Man games released since 1995.”
Wow.
Spider-Man trounced the competition in September, beating out a ton of new releases in the top ten including NBA 2K19 (#2), Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (#3), FIFA 19 (#4), Shadow of the Tomb Raider (#5), Forza Horizon 4 (#7), Super Mario Party (#9), and NHL 19 (#10).
Below the top ten, several popular titles continued to prove their resiliency. Grand Theft Auto V (#13), Mario Kart 8 (#14), and Minecraft (#20) have all been hanging around the top of the charts for the last four years, and their new-generation re-releases have likely cemented their spot among the best-sellers for another four.
But you can find the full list of last month’s best-selling games after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Crash Bandicoot, Destiny 2, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, FIFA 19, Forza Horizon 4, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 19, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, NBA 2K19, NHL 19, NPD, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Spider-Man, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Party, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege, WWE 2K19
Madden NFL 19 beat out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to become the best-selling game of August 2018
As new entries in the series always do, EA Sports’s Madden NFL 19 broke away from the pack and sprinted for the end zone as the best-selling game of August 2018. But it’s one of the games it beat out that might be the most interesting story from The NPD Group’s latest report.
According to the market research company (via GamesIndustry.biz), the #8 spot in last month’s list of best-selling games was occupied by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a title that was originally launched in 2009. So why the sudden sales surge? The most likely explanation is because Microsoft recently added the Xbox 360 edition of the game to the Xbox One’s Backwards Compatibility Library.
Adding new sales to perennially best-selling games was absolutely a trend in August, as 2015’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (#3), 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V (#4), and 2014’s Mario Kart 8 (#5) all cracked the top five. But if you’re looking for newer titles, Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World continued its improbable run at the top of the charts by landing at the #2 spot thanks to the PC edition’s August launch.
Overall, the game industry grew 26% year-over-year with total sales of $796 million, including $214 million in hardware (a 28% increase), $330 million for software (a 16% increase), and $251 million for accessories (a whopping 39% increase).
A list of last month’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, God of War 4, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 19, Mario Kart 8, Monster Hunter: World, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, NPD, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler was the best-selling game in July 2018
It would have been amusing if Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler took the #8 spot in The NPD Group’s monthly report of best-selling games (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz). But instead, the retro-styled RPG smashed expectations and landed in the top spot for the preceding four-week period. That means the publisher is likely less amused and more amazed.
Nintendo Switch exclusives dominated the list of best-selling games last month, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#3), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), Super Mario Odyssey (#7), and Mario Tennis Aces (#10) all cracking the top ten. The recent Switch launch of Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy (#9) also likely accounted for its rise in the rankings (the game is also available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One).
The Switch was also the best-selling console in July, the first time that’s happened since December 2017.
You can find out how the rest of the top ten shook out, with a quick rundown of the remainder of July 2018’s best-selling games, after the break. (more…)