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Nintendo smashed sales records in March 2017… but Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the top-selling game
Nintendo told us all about their record-setting sales month last week, but the NPD Group made it official today when they revealed their retail report on the video game industry for March 2017.
NPD analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz: “March 2017 will go down in history books as the month Nintendo broke records.The Nintendo Switch had the biggest hardware launch for a Nintendo platform and the second biggest launch for any video game platform since 1995, the time NPD began tracking this category.”
However, even though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild managed to sell more than 900,000 copies, it wasn’t able to secure the #1 spot. Instead, Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the best-selling game last month, likely due to Nintendo’s unwillingness to share their digital sales figures with the NPD Group. Other strong sellers on the Switch included 1-2 Switch (#13) and Super Bomberman R (#17).
Big debuts weren’t limited to Nintendo’s Switch, and it was a banner month for several new releases last month, as Mass Effect: Andromeda (#3), Horizon: Zero Dawn (#4), and Nier: Automata (#9) also smashed expectations. Combined with impressive Switch hardware sales, these games helped the industry record more than $1.36 billion in total sales for the month, a 24% year-on-year increase over March 2016.
The complete list of best-selling games from March 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged 1-2-Switch, Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, FIFA 17, For Honor, Grand Theft Auto V, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix, Lego Worlds, Madden NFL 17, Mass Effect: Andromeda, MLB The Show 17, NBA 2K17, Nier: Automata, NPD, Overwatch, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Super Bomberman R, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
For Honor rises to the occasion as the best-selling game of February 2017
Ubisoft’s For Honor conquered all comers during its first month of availability, as The NPD Group declared it the best-selling game during February 2017. The multiplayer brawler faced some tough competition, but it emerged victorious on the retail battlefield, besting both Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (#2) and Grand Theft Auto V (#3).
The only other new release to crack last month’s top ten was Nioh, an action RPG developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo.
But the overall retail health of the industry was on a downward swing in February. According to GamesIndustry.biz, hardware and software sales were down: “Total hardware sales amounted to $204 million, down 30% from last year. Console and portable software dropped 14% to $344.2 million, PC software fell 26% to just $25 million, while accessories fell 21% to $150.8 million. All told, industry sales took a 21% hit, declining from $918.7 million to $724 million.”
However, it seems likely that the successful launch of the Nintendo Switch (and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) will change that trajectory in March.
The complete list of best-selling games from February 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, For Honor, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 17, NBA 2K17, Nioh, NPD, Overwatch, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
New Retail Releases: Nioh, Rainbow Six Siege Year 2 Gold Edition, WWE 2K17 for PC
Three new games fill out this week’s batch of new retail releases, though only one of them can reasonably be called “new.”
Nioh is a PS4 exclusive that transports its audience to a “fantastical and dark vision of 16th century Japan.” Developed by Team Ninja, players will battle skilled samurai, vile beasts, and demons which are threatening to tear the country apart during the Warring States period.
Also available this week is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege – Year 2 Gold Edition from Ubisoft. The PS4 and Xbox One re-release comprised of the original game and the Year 2 Pass, which includes access to all of the game’s upcoming Year 2 content. However, if you want to add the Year 1 Pass to the team-based shooter, you’ll need to purchase it separately.
Finally this week, 2K Games will bring WWE 2K17 to the PC for the first time. WWE 2K17 features an expanded MyCareer Mode, as well as the largest roster of wrestlers ever included in a WWE game.
That’s it for now, but we’ll back later this week with a look at the latest digital additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Madden NFL 17 rumbles its way to the end zone as the best-selling game of August 2016
A trio of new releases stood atop the NPD Group’s recounting of the best-selling games of August 2016, but Madden NFL 17 unsurprisingly took the top spot.
EA’s juggernaut is almost always unstoppable during the calendar’s eighth month, but it was equally unsurprising to see No Man’s Sky and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided take up residence at #2 and #3, respectively.
NPD analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz: “The release of strong new titles such as Madden NFL 17, No Man’s Sky and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided bolstered console software dollar sales by 8%.”
The remainder of this month’s best-sellers included the usual mix of big titles from 2015 and 2016, with some Grand Theft Auto V (#4) and Minecraft (#9) tossed in for flavor.
A full look at August 2016’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Almost three years after its release, GTA5 was NPD’s best-selling game in July 2016
With a sweltering Summer in full swing, game publishers mostly skipped the month of July. And nowhere is this more evident than the monthly NPD ranking of best-selling games, which was topped by Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V, a game that was originally released almost three years ago. The only new release to crack the top ten in July was Capcom’s Monster Hunter Generations, which claimed the #4 spot.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD analyst Sam Naji said: “Lack of strong new titles for the month resulted with poor comparison with last July’s Batman: Arkham Knight with consumers spending 14 percent less year-on-year on hardware, software and accessories. However, the release of Monster Hunter: Generations and the price drop for the 2DS helped to bolster spending for 3DS and 2DS hardware by 44%”
While brand new titles were a rare sight in the NPD’s July 2016 top ten, new-ish titles like Overwatch (#2), Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (#3), and Doom (#8) continue to be popular with shoppers.
The NPD Group continued their foray into tracking sales of digital downloads last month, though Capcom, Mojang, Bethesda, and Blizzard (for Battle.net sales) chose not to participate.
A full look at July 2016’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: Black Ops III marches to the top of January 2016’s list of best-selling games
The NPD Group recently delivered their monthly report on the state of retail video game sales, and the market research firm once again crowned Call of Duty: Black Ops III as the best-selling game of the month. The military shooter’s January 2016 victory is its third straight, but the industry as a whole is in a bit of a slump due to last month’s lack of new releases.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, retail sales for new games totaled $212.7 million last month, down from $235.6 million in 2015. The NPD Group speculated that the lack of a highly-anticipated new title like Techland’s Dying Light might be the cause for the dip, which makes sense when you realize that only one new release, Lego Avengers, was able to crack the top ten. Across the entire industry, US consumers spent $605.2 million on games, consoles, and accessories in January 2016, which was slightly down from January 2015’s total of $627.6 million.
Grand Theft Auto V, Fallout 4, Minecraft, and a few others continue to tally impressive sales. And you can find them all in the full top ten list of January 2016’s best-selling games, which is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, FIFA 16, Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Avengers, Madden NFL 16, Minecraft, NBA 2K16, NPD, Star Wars: Battlefront, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
CoD: Black Ops III does a repeat of November as the best-selling game of December 2015 too
While financial folks continue to claim that the Call of Duty franchise is in freefall, the latest game in the series still managed to top the sales charts in December. Call of Duty: Black Ops III, which also topped the list in November, beat out several other strong contenders for the public’s Christmas dollars including Star Wars: Battlefront (#2) and Fallout 4 (#3). There weren’t too many new releases available in December, but one, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (#7), managed to crack the top ten.
However, the the biggest surprise in the NPD Group’s December report might be that Minecraft: Story Mode landed at #9… even though the game disc available in stores only contains the first episode. Interestingly, it placed just behind the original Minecraft, which was firmly locked in at #8.
Even with a dearth of new releases, December 2015 was a good one from a financial perspective, which NPD analyst Liam Callahan shared with GamesIndustry.biz: “December 2015 was the best month on record for PS4 and Xbox One, and the second-best for the Wii U in terms of new physical software unit sales. This also meant that it was the best month of total eighth generation new physical software sales.”
The full top ten list for December 2015 can be found after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Just Cause 3, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, more
Just like this week’s PlayStation Store update, Ubisoft and Square Enix are sitting at the top of the Xbox Games Store update with Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege and Just Cause 3.
Ubisoft counter-terrorism shooter for the Xbox One is the first new entry in the series in seven years and promises a new 5v5 “Fortify Versus Defend” mechanic that focuses on environmental destruction (or protection if you’re the defending team). And speaking of destruction, Just Cause 3 will let players tear it up on the Xbox One as players will once again step into Rico Rodriguez’s wingsuit as he flings himself off cliffs in search of another dictator on another island paradise. Don’t forget your grapple gun!
Also available this week is The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, a Diablo-like action RPG that stars the famed vampire hunter. But you’ll have to fight more than a few bloodsuckers as mad science run amok “threatens the fragile peace between monster and mortal.” If that sounds like your kind of thing, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is available as a free download all month as part of Microsoft’s Games With Gold program.
More information on all three of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Just Cause 3, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege