New release sales at lowest since 1998

It seems Mortal Kombat 11 can't be stopped. Much like last month, NetherRealm's latest entry in the long-running series has topped the NPD charts for May 2019. It has now become the best selling game of 2019 overall (topping Kingdom Hearts III) and will likely end up being one of the highest selling? games of the year. Despite the success of this ?particular game, May 2019 was one of the worst months for new releases that NPD has tracked since May 1998.

Both hardware and software sales saw a decline with NPD analyst Mat Piscatella noting that year-to-date spending was down 3% -- down to $4.7 billion-- from las??t year. Hardware, in particular, saw a 20% decrease -- down to $149 million-- in sales with Piscatella speculating that the looming release of next-generation platforms is likely to blame. Regardless of how poor games may have sold this month, Ninten??do Switch remained the only platform to see growth and came out as the best selling piece of hardware for May.

I can't say I'm that surprised, though. There really weren't many big games that released last month. While both Rage 2 and Total War: Three Kingdoms did well?, they wer??e the only two major releases I can think of without consulting a list. Coincidentally, they both appear on May's NPD list, but two games aren't enough to spur sales elsewhere. June is already off to a better start with a ton of surprise releases during E3, so we'll likely see this recent downward trend reverse.

At any ra??te, here are the top 20 games for May 2019:

• 1. Mortal Kombat 11
• 2. Days Gone
• 3. Total War: Three Kingdoms
• 4. Rage 2*
• 5. Grand Theft Auto V
• 6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
• 7. Red Dead Redemption II
• 8. MLB 19: The Show
• 9. Minecraft
• 10. NBA 2K19
• 11. Mario Kart 8*
• 12. Tom Clancy's The Division 2^
• 13. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII^
• 14. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
• 15. Marvel's Spider-Man
• 16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
• 17. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
• 18. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
• 19. Team Sonic Racing
• 20. Yoshi's Crafted World*

* Digital sales not included
^ PC digital sales not included
# Minecraft digital sales on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One included

NPD: May 2019 was the worst May for new? re??leases since 1998 [GamesIndustry.biz]

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Brutality!

Mortal Kombat 11 dominated April's NPD charts. The hotly anticipated entry in the long-running series topped the charts for not only the overall month of April but each respective platform it launched on. Regardless of how you feel about its more grind heavy aspects, it seems p??eople were eager to get back into the fray and ri??p some heads off.

Coming in second was Sony's Days Gone, which managed to pull second for both the overall month and the PS4 chart. Despite some tepid reception, SIE Bend Studio created a bonafide hit with its schmaltzy, B-movie like zombie shooter. Questionable dialogue aside, Days Gone is earnestly stupid and I can appreciate that.

As for the rest of the month, April was apparently a quiet one. The industry saw an overall growth of 1% in spending, but that is mostly attributed to software and accessories instead of hardware sales. Hardware, as a matter of fact, has been in decline for the past few months and fell around 29% compa??red to April of last year. The Switch, though, continued its strong momentum and became April's best selling piece of hardware (specifically the Red/Blue Neon model).

Here are April's best selling games fo?r all platforms:

• 1. Mortal Kombat 11
• 2. Days Gone
• 3. MLB 19: The Show
• 4. The Division 2
  
• 5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 6. GTA 5
• 7. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
• 8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
• 9. NBA 2K19
• 10. Yoshi's Crafted World

Mortal Kombat 11 is the best-selling game on a??ll platforms in April – NPD [VG 24/7]

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Rockstar strikes again

The NPD Group has shared its statistics for the whole of 2018 and some not-so-surprising outcomes have happened. Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 was the best selling game of 2018 followed by Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. NBA 2K and Madden then chart in third and fourth with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate coming in fifth. Surprisingly, Smash beat out God of War, Spider-Man, and Monster Hunter: World in terms of overall sales while only being on shelves for a?? month.

The top 20 list for 2018 looks like this:

*Does not include digital sales
**Does not include PC digital sales

• 1: Red Dead Redemption 2
• 2: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
• 3: NBA 2K19
• 4: Madden NFL 19
• 5: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
• 6: Marvel’s Spider-Man
• 7: Far Cry 5
• 8: God of War 2018
• 9: Monster Hunter: World
• 10: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
• 11: Grand Theft Auto V
• 12: Mario Kart 8*
• 13: FIFA 19**
• 14: Battlefield V**
• 15: Super Mario Odyssey*
• 16: Call of Duty: WWII**
• 17: Dragon Ball: FighterZ
• 18: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
• 19: Super Mario Party*
• 20: Pokemon: Lets Go Pikachu*

As for the best selling console of 2018, that honor goes to the Nintendo Switch. It beat out the PS4 and Xbox One throughout the year but really drove it home in December. The release of Smash led to the Switch being, "the highest December-month hardware doll??ar sales for a single platform since the Nintendo Wii in December 2009." It even achieved the highest unit sales for a single-platform since December of 2010.

As far as December was concerned, Smash may as well have been the only game on sale. It dominated the monthly chart along with six other Nintendo exclusives. "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate set a new launch-month dollar sales record for a platform exclusive in Video Game history," NPD analyst Mat Piscatella reports. "Packaged software launch month dollar sales of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate exceeded those of the previous best in franchise history, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, by?? over 70 percent." It has also become the fastest selling console exclusive to ever? be tracked by the NPD.

December's top 20 list is as follows:

• 1: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
• 2: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4**
• 3: Red Dead Redemption II
• 4: Battlefield V**
• 5: NBA 2K19
• 6: Mario Kart 8*
• 7: Madden NFL 19**
• 8: Super Mario Party*
• 9: Pokemon: Lets Go Pikachu*
• 10: Marvel’s Spider-Man
• 11: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
• 12: Pokemon: Lets Go Eevee*
• 13: Super Mario Odyssey*
• 14: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
• 15: Just Cause 4
• 16: FIFA 19
• 17: Grand Theft Auto V
• 18: Minecraft
• 19: Spyro Reignited Trilogy**
• 20: Fallout 76*

With all of that laid out, I'm mostly surprised at how ridiculously well Smash did. Both God of War and Spider-Man broke records for Sony, yet Smash still topped them without breaking a sweat. This isn't even including digital sales of Smash, which ?likely put it even higher. I guess people were ??really clamoring for the latest entry in Nintendo's all-star brawler.

Console hardware sales may have been down, but 2018 seemed to push software sales for everyone. Madden broke August records, Monster Hunter: World quickly became Capcom's best selling title, and even Spyro dominated charts. Here's h?oping 2019 continues some of that steam.

December 2018 NPD: Smash Bros. beats Spider-Man in exclusives battle [Venture Beat]

NPD 2018: The 20 best-selling games of the year [Venture Beat]

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TOUCHDOWN!

It should come as no surprise to anyone, but EA's Madden NFL series is massively popular. I guess hype for the latest entry, Madden 19, was at its highest as the game has come out to record-breaking sales. Not only was it the biggest launch in Madden history since Madden 13, but it also became the bes??t selling game of August 2018. If that wasn't enough, it is now the fourth best selling game of 2018.

This shouldn't be too shocking as Madden has historically been the biggest seller of August. NPD Analyst Mit Piscatella recalls, "Since 2000, Madden NFL Football has been the best-selling game of August every year, with the exceptions of 2011 and 2012, when Madden NFL launched in the September tracking period." Guess which games were the best selling of those two Septembers? (The answer is Madden)

The odd part isn't about Madden's success, though. What is truly shocking is that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has shown up in the charts. A game released nine years ago is charting alongside current hits and ahead of some of the biggest games of this year. Have we entered a time warp? This is likely because the game was added on Xbox One backward compatibility last month. Piscatella states, "The title was added to the Xbox ??One Backward Compatible Game Library on Augu??st 28, propelling the title up to number 8 on the August best-sellers chart."

The rest of the list is pretty similar to what we saw last month. Oddly, Octopath Traveler and Destiny 2 aren't in the top 20 anymore, but everything else is similar to last month's report.

• 1. Madden NFL 19**
• 2. Monster Hunter: World
• 3. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
• 4. Grand Theft Auto V
• 5. Mario Kart 8*
• 6. Naruto To Boruto: Shinobi Striker
• 7. God of War
• 8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• 9. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
• 10. Super Mario Odyssey*
• 11. Minecraft
• 12. Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
• 13. Far Cry 5
• 14. Monster Hunter: Generations Ultimate
• 15. Call of Duty: WWII
• 16. Mario Tennis Aces*
• 17. Overwatch**
• 18. Lego The Incredibles
• 19. We Happy Few*
• 20. The Crew 2

*No digital sales
**No PC digital sales

August 2018 NPD: Madden NFL has its best kickoff since 2013 [Venture Beat]

The post Madden 19 wins MVP for August a??ccording to NPD G?roup appeared first on Destructoid.

It walked the octopath to success

Hype for Square Enix's retro-RPG revival Octopath Traveler was through the roof before release last month. Not only did the game look to perfectly capture the SNES era of RPGs, it was one that Square Enix was using as a testing ground for similar projects?? in the future. If July's NPD Group sales chart is anything to go by, we'll li??kely be seeing a lot more classic RPGs in the future.

In the month of July 2018, Octopath Traveler took the top spot alongside Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V and helped push game sales up 17% over the same perio??d last year. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said, "Year-to-date spending across video game hardware, software, accessories, and game cards is up 17 percent when compared to the same period a year ago...Growth has occurred across all categories of spending, with accessories and game cards driving the largest dol?lar growth."

Just as he said, even hardware sales are up from a year ago. This is likely to do with a larger library of titles finally being available for n??ewcomers to adopt, though it could also be down to how ridiculously popular the Switch has been. Nintendo is not only dominating the summer of 2018 but the entire year. As Piscatella points out, "Nintendo is the top-selling full game sof??tware publisher for both July and year to date. Nintendo Switch is the only platform showing year-on-year growth in full-game dollar sales with gains of nearly 70 percent when compared to a year ago."

Here is the full chart for July:

• Octopath Traveler*
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Mario Kart 8*
• Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
• Far Cry 5
• Super Mario Odyssey*
• The Crew 2
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
• Mario Tennis Aces *
• FIFA 18**
• Lego Incredibles
• God of War (2018)
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker*
• NBA 2K18
• Call of Duty: WWII
• Detroit: Become Human
• MLB 18: The Show
• Minecraft**
• Destiny 2**

*No digital sales

**No PC digital sales

July 2018 NPD: Octopath Traveler and Grand Theft Auto V own the charts [Venture Beat]

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Do you hear that, boy?

In addition to becoming Sony's fastest selling PS4 exclusive, God of War was also the best selling game of April according to the NPD Group. Alongside general increased earnings in the games industry, God of War sits at the number one spot for April and the number three spot for 2018 behind Monster Hunter: World and Far Cry 5. Sony's exclusive sports franchise, MLB: The Show, also made the top five for best sellers in April with The Show 18 being in the number three spot.

NPD analyst Mat Piscatella stated, "PlayStation 4 software?? dollar sales in April 2018 set an all-time April high for any platform since tracking began in 1995. The record had previously been held by Xbox 360 and was set in April 2008." Holy cow, Sony is on fire this year.

Here is the list for April's software sales:

1. God of War 2018
2. Far Cry 5
3. MLB 18: The Show
4. Labo Variety Kit
5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze*
6. Mario Kart 8*
7. Grand Theft Auto V
8. Call of Duty: WWII
9. Super Mario Odyssey*
10. NBA 2K18
11. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds**
12. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
13. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
14. Monster Hunter: World
15. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
16. A Way Out**
17. Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life*
18. Sea Of Thieves
19. Kirby Star Allies*
20. FIFA 18**

*No digital sales included
**No PC digital sales included

Here is the list for 2018 thus far:

1. Far Cry 5
2. Monster Hunter: World
3. God of War 2018
4. Call of Duty: WWII
5. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. NBA 2K18
8. MLB 18: The Show
9. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds**
10. Mario Kart 8*

Some other interesting things to note are that Labo seems to be doing pretty well and Yakuza 6 made the top 20 for April. I guess 2018 has just been an excellent year for everyone??, regardless of nic?he or genre.

April NPD 2018: God of War is the big daddy [Venture Beat]

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Far Cry 5 is also (expectedly) huge

March NPD numbers are finally out and, as expected, Far Cry 5 is sitting atop the overall sales chart. Not the biggest surprise given Ubisoft announced earlier in the month the game is the fastest-selling entry in the franchise, but it also managed to blow by two console exclusives to take the top spots on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One charts. Sales of the game are so big, it's now the top-selling title of 2018, having eclipsed the previous leader Monster Hunter: World.

Three other games made massive debuts last month, each of which set their own individual record. Sea of Thieves landed at the number two spot on both the overall and Xbox One charts. According to the NPD, the game sold more in its first month than any other Rare title since it started tracking sales 23 years ago. So better than GoldenEye, Perfect Dark Zero, Banjo-Kazooie, and all that Kinect nonsense. MLB 18: The Show, which grabbed the third spot on the overall chart, set a franchise record for first-month sales as did Kirby Star Allies, which followed at number four.

The well-reviewed Ni No Kuni II did manage to hit the top 10 and EA's million-selling co-op game A Way Out squeezed its way into the top 20. Detective Pikachu launched at the top of the 3DS chart but it failed to lan?d on the overall list. 

Besides Kirby, I expect most of these games to make repeat appearances on the sales chart next month, though comfortably behind God of War. It'll be of great interest to see if either Labo set manages to chart as well.

March NPD 2018: Far Cry 5 debuts as the top-selling game of the year [Venture Beat]

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GTA V continues to go strong

If you would have asked me at the beginning of 2017 what I thought the best-selling game of that year would be, I would have said, "Whatever the Call of Duty game is." Why? That's easy. Since 2014, the best-selling game of every year in the US has been a Call of Duty title. From Advanced Warfare to 2016's good-but-not-great Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty is nigh unbeatable. Hell, Call of Duty has dominated the top spot at the end of the year charts since 2009, only giving up the throne once in 2013 to Grand Theft Auto V.

Yes, Call of Duty: WWII 2017' s best seller despite facing such other platinum sellers as Destiny 2 and an incredibly strong NBA 2K18.

Here are?? the top 10 best selling games of 2017 in the US according to the NPD Group:

1. Call of Duty: WWII
2. NBA 2K18
3. Destiny 2
4. Madden NFL 18
5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands
8. Star Wars Battlefront II
9. Super Mario Odyssey
10. Mario Kart 8

It should be noted the NPD Group d??oes not account for digital sales of Nintendo game n?or digital PC sales.

It's not an entirely surprising end of the year list, dominated by multi-platform releases that no doubt edged console exclusives like Horizon Zero Dawn out of the top 10. 2018 is sure to be an interesting one, with a bucketload of big PS4 exclusives and multi-platform games set to hit. I'm most interested to see if Red Dead Redemption 2 will finally get people to stop buying GTA V.

US games market up 11% in 2017 - NPD [Gameindustry.biz]

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It was your Destiny (2)

2017 is nearing an end, but there are still a few heavy hitting games coming out. Last month saw the release of the hotly anticipated Destiny 2 and even with negative press around microtransactions and changes to cosmetics, Bungie's sci-fi space opera still managed to outsell every other game of the year in a single month. There are no concrete numbers to back this up, but the NPD Group has released its September 2017 chart and Destiny 2 is reigning supreme.

According to the firm, revenue for the month totaled around $1.21 billion, which is an increase of 39% over last year. Hardware sales also saw an increase of 34% over last year, bringing in an estimated $316 million. The only statistic that went down was PC softw??are sales, bu??t I'm not sure if those include digital numbers or not (some companies are stingy with releasing digital figures).

The September 2017 chart looks like this:

1. Destiny 2 (Battle.net sales not tracked)
   
2. NBA 2K18
3. Madden NFL 18
4. FIFA 18
5. Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Digital sales not tracked)
   
6. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
7. Grand Theft Auto V
8. NHL 18
9. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Digital sales not tracked)
   
10. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
11. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Digital sales not tracked)
    
12. Metroid: Samus Returns (Digital sales not tracked)
    
13. Pokken Tournament DX (Digital sales not tracked)
    
14. Overwatch (Battle.net sales not tracked)
    
15. Ark: Survival Evolved (Digital sales not tracked)
    
16. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
17. NBA Live 18
18. Splatoon 2 (Digital sales not tracked)
    
19. Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
20. Minecraft

The best selling games of 2017 are:

1. Destiny 2 (Battle.net sales not tracked)
   
2. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
3. NBA 2K18
4. Madden NFL 18
5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Digital sales not tracked)
   
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. For Honor
8. Horizon Zero Dawn
9. Injustice 2
10. Mass Effect: Andromeda

I always find it surprising that last year's games tend to stick around in the sales charts, but how the hell is Grand Theft Auto V still competing? That being said, there are some neat things if you look at individual platform charts. Metroid: Samus Returns is the best selling 3DS game this year and Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is actually selling better than Zelda on Switch.

As for whether or not Destiny 2 will hold on to this honor, who's to say? I have a feeling that Call of Duty: WWII is?? going to stomp out everything, even with the series seemingly becoming less popular over time.

September 2017 NPD: Destiny 2 outshoots NBA 2K18 for the top spot [Venture Beat]

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Is this the untimely end of CoD?

According to a report from CNBC, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare sold fewer physical copies than its predecessor, Black Ops III. This news comes as little surprise, considering the tepid critical and fan reaction to Infinite Warfare. ;Day-one impressions were primarily negative, with the conversation surrounding the game only getting worse since?? its release earlier last month??.

Sales dropped almost 50% from last year, falling "17% shy of expectations," according to Doug Creutz, a gaming analyst from the Cowen Group. This was corroborated by a second, anonymous Wall Street source. "[According to the source,] November's NPD Call of Duty unit sales were down 51 year ov?er year," writes CNBC's Tae Kim. Although this news comes from American sales data, the UK also saw a 48% sales drop.

The report comes from the privately released November 2016 NPD sales data, which tracks sell-through information; not copies shipped to stores, but rather copies purchased by consumers. However, NPD data does not currently track digital sales, so it's possible that people are finally beginning to embrace the all-digital future. After all, brick-and-mortar retailers are struggling. But if Call of Duty was so white-hot on the?? PlayS?tation and Xbox digital stores, you can bet Activision would've put that in a press release already.

The disappointing sales of Infinite Warfare, coupled with a drop in Activision stock, could motivate the company to give the series a break, à la Assassin's Creed. If next year's Call of Duty turns out to be really good, will that be enough to reverse the franchise's downward trend? I doubt it -- the most interesting part of this year's package was Modern Warfare Remastered, which probably doesn't bode well.

Activision did not return CNBC's requests for comment, so I doubt th??ey'll get back to us either. We'll ask ??anyway, though.

November 'Call of Duty' physical game ??sales fell nearly 50 percent, analysts say [CNBC]

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PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U strong December

Aside from revealing the continued dominance of Call of Duty, the 2015-in-review NPD data also tracked hardware performance throughout the year. Despite the lack of a kil??ler exclusive, PS4 outsold the Xbox One in December, and thr?oughout 2015.

Last week, Sony reported 5.7M PS4s sold over the 'holiday' (11/23/2015-1/3/2016) for a 35.9M total. At the start of 2015, Sony reported 18.5M consoles sold. Napkin math says 17.4M PS4??s sold in 2015. Given that many of the first PS4s sold came at the end of 2013 when the new consoles launched, Sony sold more PS4s in 2015 than in 2014. Microsoft has yet to reveal Xbox One sales so we just know they're less than 17M in 2015. Still, De?cember was the best sales month for both consoles.

The combined sales of PS4 and Xbox One?? in their first 26 months is 47% higher than the combined PS3 and 360 sales over the same peri??od.

Industry spending as a whole is slightly down in 2015, mostly with last gen and handheld sales flagging. PS4 and Xbox One sof??tware sales went up 48% year-over-year and the Wii U had its second best software selling month ever in December. As a whole, 2015 was the best year for total sales of PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U games.

Top 10 new physical software sales (in the US, all platforms) for 2015

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
2. Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3)
3. Fallout 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
4. Star Wars Battlefront (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
5. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
6. NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3)
7. Minecraft (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4)
8. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One)
9. FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3)
10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

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Madden caps summer

After a summer of mostly PlayStation and big-title dominance, the usual NPD sales for August proved par for the course as the juggernaut that is Madden took the top spot for the month. The other juggernaut of our times, Minecraft continues to teach others how to tame horses as it sit??s smugly in seco?nd place.

The PlayStation 4 was once again the best-selling console for the month. Banking on the strength of the console, the PS4-exclusive Until Dawn posted a top 10 spot by coming in at number seven. Not to be outdone, however, the Xbox One-exclusives Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and Rare Replay also claimed top 10 positions.

Here's your software top 10 for August 2015:

1. Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
2. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
3. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One)
4. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
5. Lego: Jurassic World (360, 3DS, Wii U, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, Vita)
6. Rare Replay (Xbox One)
7. Until Dawn (PS4)
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops Combo Pack (360, PS3)
9. Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, Xbox One)
10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)

August 20??15 NPD: PlayStation 4 and Madden are the kings of summer [VentureBeat]

The post August NPD: Predictable month for predicatab??le times appeared first on Destructoid.

Top ten continues to look samey

There weren't a ton of surprises this month for the July NPD report. Even though Splatoon players might be a little sad their beloved paint shooter is no longer in the top ten, you gotta admit, it had a good run with the big boys.

For yet another consecutive month, the PlayStation 4 led hardware sales. Lego: Jurassic World jumped up two spots to number one thanks to bundled versions of PS4s that included Batman: Arkham Knight -- which don't count as individual game ??sale??s for the all-important NPD.

The big takeaway here, though, is that the video game busines?s as a whole is doing quite well. New hardware, software and accessories generated $541.9 million in July, according to NPD. That accounts for a 6 percent bump from the $513.3 million made during the same period last year.

Here's your software top 10 for July 2015:

1. Lego: Jurassic World (360, 3DS, PS3, Xbox One, Wii U, PS4, Vita)
2. Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
3. Minecraft (360, PS3 ,Xbox One, PS4)
4. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
5. Rory Mcilroy PGA Tour (PS4, Xbox One)
6. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
7. Destiny (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
8. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One)
9. FIFA 15 (PS4, 360, Xbox One, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS)
10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)

July 2015 NPD: Lack of?? new games doesn’t hurt industry — or PlayStation 4 [VentureBeat]

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Splatoon remains at number five

June's NPD numbers were rather ordinary and predictable. That is, nothing terribly shocking happened. The PlayStation 4 was still the top console and Batman: Arkham Knight led the way for software (w??ith the PS4 version the biggest seller).

For the Nintendo and paint-loving faithful, Splatoon remained in the number five spot. However, unlike last month, it sits al?one as the lone Nintendo-only game to crack the top 10. Worry??ing? Probably.

For MMO fans, The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited sneaked its way into the top 10 thanks to its recent console debut.?? Not bad for a game that most thought would be dead on arrival -- especially in the crowded PC space.

Here's your software top 10 for June 2015:

1. Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
2. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
3. Lego: Jurassic World (360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, 3DS, Wii U, Vita)
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
5. Splatoon (Wii U)
6. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
7. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
8. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One)
9. NBA 2K15 (360, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, PC)
10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)

June 2015 NPD: PlayStation 4 be??ats Xbox One as Batman tops the software chart [VentureBeat]

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PS4 software sales dominate the bone

After just a month in the top spot, the Xbox One gave way to the PlayStation 4 for the month of May, according to the latest NPD numbers released. But the PS4 didn't just sell hardware, the system also outsold the Xbox One for?? nearly all software in t??he top 10.

The software side saw two very good debuts. While Witcher 3 went ahead and claimed top honors for its first month (which we kind of expected), Splatoon also sneaked into the top 10 at number five after just a few days o??f sales ??for the month of May. Not too shabby for a brand new IP on an under-performing console.

Here's your software top 10 for May 2015:

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
2. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One)
3. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
4. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
5. Splatoon (Wii U)
6. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, 360, Xbox One, PS3, PC)
7. NBA 2K15 (360, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, PC)
8. FIFA 15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, Wii , 3DS, Vita)
9. MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)
10. Super Smash Bros. (3DS, Wii U)

May 2015 NPD: PlayStation 4 tops console sales as?? The Witcher III has strong debut [VentureBeat]

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Mortal Kombat X tops all software

According to April's NPD numbers, the Xbox One proved it has some legs as it claimed the top spot for the month's console sales by knocking the PlayStation 4 down a notch. While Sony may be leading the console race overall and worldwide, the Xbox One needs a month like this to continue to stay relevant and build its base brick by brick.

Here is what Microsoft's m??arketing had to say via Mike Nichols, corporate vice pr??esident of Xbox Marketing:

Xbox One console sales in the U.S. increased 63 percent in April 2015 compared to April 2014 and Xbox Live comparison??s showed the number of active global users (Xbox One and?? Xbox 360) grew 24 percent.

As for the software side of things, NPD reported that Mortal Kombat X led all game sales for April. Below is a breakdown of the month's top ten (note that Bloodborne was bounced and Dark Souls II snuck itself in):

1. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One) 
2. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, PC, 360, PS3)
3. Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
4. MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)
5. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
6. NBA 2K15 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
7. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
8. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
9. Super Smash Bros. (3DS, Wii U)
10. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (PS4, Xbox One)

April 201?5 NPD: Xbox O?ne outsells PS4; Mortal Kombat X tops software chart [VentureBeat]

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Bloodborne takes No. 2 spot

??It's that time of the month again. The time console warriors are able to pull out actual facts to back up t?heir extreme fanboyism in the most heated of forum discussions.

Taking the top spot again for hardware was the PlayStation 4. While no actu?al numbers are provided, we're supposed to take Sony's word that its system was the most valuable player of the month.

“We are truly honored PlayStation 4 is the top-selling console and No. 1 in software sales again according to NPD sales data for March 2015,” a spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment told GamesBeat in a statement. “PS4 remains the cumulative sales leader both globally and in the United States and we want to thank gamers worldwide for their ongoing support.&rdq??uo;

Microsoft and Nintendo had your standard we're not the best, but hey we're trying PR babble in response to the final numbers.

As for software, Battlefield Hardline grabbed the top spot. While Bloodborne took second overall, it was first for a system exclusive. My personal favorite MLB 15 also popped up on the list at number six. Mario Party 10 was the lone Nintendo title to appear in ?the top ??ten.

Here's a look at the top ten software ??sales for March:

1. Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, 360, PS3, PC)
2. Bloodborne (PS4)
3. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
4. Mario Party 10 (Wii U) (sold 290,000 copies physical and digital, according to Nintendo)
5. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
6. MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)
7. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
8. NBA 2K15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
9. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (PS4, Xbox One)
10. Final Fantasy: Type 0 HD (PS4, Xbox One)

March 2015 NPD: PS4 beats Xbox One; Battlefield, Bloodborne lead sluggish March game sales [VentureBeat]

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All bow before the 3DS

It looks like we can all temper those Nintendo is doomed stories that always pop up in their forever click-bait form. According to the latest NPD numbers for February, Nintendo proved that the?y still have the ability to print money as th?ey topped not only software sales, but hardware as well.

Leading the software charts for February was The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, which sold a combined 515,000 copies both digitally and physically?.

On the hardware side, while the PlayStation 4 still outsold the Xbox One, it was actually the 3DS family that won out over everyone. Accordi??ng to Nintendo, all versions o?f the 3DS sold 395,000 units for the month.

Here's a breakdown of the top 10 software sa?les for February:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D (3DS) (515,000 copies sold digitally and physically)
2. Evolve (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
3. Dying Light (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
4. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
5. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
6. NBA 2K15 (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360)
7. Dragon Ball: Xenoverse (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360)
8. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
9. The Order: 1886 (PS4)
10. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) (290,000 copies sold digitally and physically)

February 2015 NPD: PS4 tops Xbox One, ?and Nintendo scores with 3DS and Zelda [VentureBeat]

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Dying Light is to die for

After being knocked off the top spot as the best-selling console for the past two months, Sony's PS4 regained the much-coveted sales marker for the month of Janu?ary. Not only is it back at number one, but it also continues its overall lead in the U.S.

The Xbox One fell back to the second spot, despite the momentum gained the previous two months from price cuts. As for t?he Wii U, eh, they sold some to ?someone, I'm sure.

Since its November 2013? launch, the PS4 has sold 18.5 million units and 81.8 million software units to consumers worldwide.

On the software side, Dying Light was the best-selling game for ?January with the PS4 version leading the way. Here's a breakdown of? January's software sales:

1. Dying Light (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
2. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One ,PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
3. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
4. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
5. NBA 2K15 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
6. Super Smash Bros. (Wii U, 3DS)
7. Far Cry 4 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
8. Madden NFL 15 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
9. Destiny (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
10. FIFA 15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS)

January 2015 NPD: PS4?? outsells Xbox One as D??ying Light tops software chart [GamesBeat]

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It's not hard to clear a low bar!

According to a media release from Nintendo, the Wii U sold almost 30 percent more hardware and over 75 percent more games in 2014 than the previous year, likely fueled by the one-two punch of Mario Kart 8 (1.7 million physical and digital units sold) and Super Smash Bros. (1.3 million physical and digital units sold).

In case you're wondering what this means for the Wii U, don't worry: you're not alone. The last hard Wii U sales number released by Nintendo was 7 million, but that was from September. If we combine that with the NPD sales figures from October (around 68K sold) and November (around 242K), along with Nintendo claiming December 2014 was the Wii U's best month to date, we could be looking at 7.5 million sold through at least, maybe even 8 million if December was really good.

The company also sold through around 2.6 million amiibo in 2014, undeterred by the scarcity of some figures, but likely helped by absolutely nutso grumps with plenty of disposable income to burn. This number will likely increas??e once the first wave of fi?gures is re-issued.

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Big third party releases selling best on PS4

PlayStation 4 sold the most among videogame consoles in August, according to the August NPD report, adding to the 10 million mark hit a month ago. For even more evidence of the console's large market share, Madden 15 on ??PS4 was the number one selling game of th??e month. 

This is at least better than people buying it en masse on PS3, because it is junk on PS3 (and 360).

Well, at least Microsoft's $400 million dollar deal to make the Surface the official tablet of the NFL is probably, uh, doing somethin??g. 

Both Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition and Madden NFL 15 sold best on PS4. Last of Us: Remastered topped first-party sellers. What with the white Destiny bundle and the unexplainable interest in that game, I'm sure this will continue, unless the Wii U pulls off a miraculous, Smash-buoyed holiday season?

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A recent survey casts some interesting light on digital sales

If there's one phrase you get used to hearing when talking about PC games, it's "I'll wait for a bundle or sale." It's common knowledge if you wait a while, you can get a better price through places like Steam, Green Man Gaming, or various bundles. This has been backed up by a new NPD report that confirms ma??ny PC gamers don't buy a game until there's a price d??rop.

The Understanding PC Gaming 2014 report polled over 6,000 people i??n the USA from the age of nine and up and found that just 46% of those questioned bought PC games digitally, which feels really low. Of that 46%, most were "far less likely" to pa??y the full price for a PC game.

If you look at the current Humble Bundle, it's offering over $100 worth of games for just $10 if you buy at the top tier. True, almost all of the games came out in 2013 but if you're patient, then you've got a great deal on your hands. (Steven is right -- you all should play Gunpoint)

It's hard to argue with gamers wanting to show patience to save some money; I?'m on a fairly tight budget myself so I know I'm not able to afford many games at launch. As the NPD remarks, publishers and developers need to adjust their expectations about how well a game will sell at launch and instead look at a longer term viewpoint.

Half of PC gamers wait for sales to buy - survey [Games Industry International]

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...in the United States, at retail

The PlayStation 4 was once again the top selling console in May of 2014, though we haven't had a specific sales numbers update from anyone in a wh?ile.

As for software, Ubisoft's day-one sales record holder Watch Dogs, released to every console and certain calculators, unsurprisingly took the top spot. Mario Kart 8, only available on the Wii U and only for two days of the May 2014 reporting period, still took number two. Sony exclusive MLB The Show made? it to third with a stand up triple. 

May 2014 NPD: PlayStation 4 And Watch?? Dogs Come Out On Top [Game Informer] 

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And other fun core gamer stats from 2014

NPD's Cor?e Gaming 2014 report shows that gamers still dig physical copies, with 74 percent of gamers in the United States saying that they would choose a physical copy of a game ?over a digital one. Digital acceptance is growing (it's up 5 percent over last year), but physical is still wanted here.

United States' 34 million core gamers spend 22.1 hours weekly playing ga?mes, the report says. A good deal of these folks also play smartphone games.

I was pleased to see my fello??w portable gamers charting on the 2014 report. Of the core gamers, 11 percent of us are putting in 4 hours a week playing portable system games. These figures are separate from the phone/mobile/tablet ones.

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1.2 million Xbox Ones sold this quarter

People are buying Xbox One consoles! Microsoft's quarterly results show that they shipped 1.2 million Xbox One systems in Q3, bringing th??eir total shipped number up to 5 million since launch. They've reported $20.??4 billion in revenue and $5.66 billion in net income for that period. 

Compare that to Sony's 7 million plus PS4 consoles sold to date. Sold??, not shipped. Not that it's a contest, right? MS shareholders don't care about Sony's sales numbers.

But if it is a contest, Titanfall was the top se?lling game in North America in March.&n??bsp;

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Titanfall and inFamous were the best-selling games

PS4 sales topped 7 million as of Sony's last count, while Microsoft says upwards of 5 million Xbox One consoles have been shipped to retailers since launch. The former system was the best-seller for March (that's three months in a row), according to the NPD Group. Titanfall led game sales.

Hang in there, Xbox One -- there's a ton of work ahead but you're not out of this race yet. "Of course, we're just getting started with this generation and the months ahead will bring several announcements we think you'll love," said Xbox corporate VP of marketing, strategy, and business Yusuf Mehdi. "We can't wait to share more games with you in June at E3."

As for the rest of March's software sales, it's nice to see another current-gen game, inFamous: Second Son, taking the number-two spot. South Park: The Stick of Truth came in third, then it was Call of Duty: Ghosts, followed by Dark Souls II in fifth place.

Titanfall tops chart, but PS4 leads hardware? again in March - NPD [GamesIndustry International]

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Grand Theft Auto 5 leads the way

According to a recent report from the NPD group, U.S. consumers spent?? 3.45 billion dollars last quarter on videogame content -- up 17 percent from the same quarter in 2012.&n?bsp;

Leading the charge was Grand Theft Auto 5, which shattered all single-day sales ??records with an $800 million dollar opening. Additionally, the report stated that physical game software accounted for $1.30 billion, while another $1.75 billion ??was spent on digital content (DLC, subscriptions, social, mobile, and full digital purchases). Used sales and rentals made up the remainder at $436 million. 

NPD Group: $3.45 billion spent on ga??mes in Q3 2013 [Game Industry International]

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Rise phoenix, rise

After managing to crack the top ten NPD list for its late August launch, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has now passed the 1.5 million registered users milestone. Many will remember the original Final Fantasy XIV laun?ch, which garnered no love for myriad reasons.

Between the middling Final Fantasy XIII, its sequel, and Final Fantasy XIV's horrendous launch, the series' name has been dragged through the mud to say the least. It's?? nice then, to see that even the missteps can be salvaged.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will also be released in 20??14 for t?he PlayStation 4.

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Nintendo 3DS best-selling console in US for fifth consecutive month

Sales of Wii U hardware increased dramatically at the tail end of September, jumping more than 200 percent over August's numbers in just 15 days, Nintendo of America has announced. The spike coincided with the system's September 20 price drop and the release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.

However, the boost doesn't mean there aren't rough seas ahead for Nintendo. The swell follows months of  poor sales, indicating the actual figures might not be overly impressive. The Wii U only shifted 160,000 units between April and July, la??gging behind even the Wii with 210,000 over the same period?.

Times aren't likely to get any easier for the Wii U going forward with increased competition from the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One looming on the horizon. At least Nintendo has a strong holiday lineup planned. Titles like Super Mario 3D World, Wii Fit U, Wii Sports Club, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2??014 Olympic ??Winter Games, and Wii Party U will conceivably give the platform some ?positive ??momentum going forward.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, Nintendo reported a 685 percent rise in weekly Wii U sales following the release of Wind Waker HD. The title debuted at number four in its first week on the market behind Grand Theft Auto V, FIFA 14, and F1 2013.

The Nintendo 3DS also had a hot September. The system continued its recent string of success by posting a fifth consecutive month atop hardware charts in United States. The portable's sales figure to soar to new heights going forward with Pokemon X/Y, which sold four million copies in just two days. Forthcoming potential hits such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Mario Party: Island Tour don't figure to hurt either.

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Overall, industry is down 19% from 2012

Thursday was NPD day, a day of celebration and / or commiseration throughout the US gaming industry. The big winners in terms of hardware and software were 3DS and NCAA Football 14. This marks the third straight month that 3DS has been in the top position, and as for NCAA... well... it's an American football game selling to an America??n audience. It's spot was secured.

For the industry overall, total sales were $443 million, a drop of 19% from last July. 3DS hardware shrugged off this slump by increasing 14%, hitting roughly 141K units. 3DS software climbed 45% from last July, thanks chiefly to Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which sold another 150K across digital and retail to hit 660K total in the US. Other US lifetime numbers include Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (820K) and New Super Mario Bros. U (830K).

The best selling home console was Xbox 360 at 107K units. It's big exclusive was the retail edition of Minecraft, which continues to hang around near the top like it lives there. Just below Minecraft is PS3's golden child, The Last of Us. Along with Animal Crossing, they represent the only platform-?exclusive software in the top 10.

The list below combines SKUs, but if you were to break it down by single platforms, three other games would find their way into the top 10: Shin Megami Tensei IV, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition.

Top 10 software chart (SKUs combined)

1. NCAA Football 14 (360, PS3)
2. Minecraft (360)
3. The Last of Us (PS3)
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
5. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
6. Far Cry 3 (360, PS3, PC)
7. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
8. Injustice: Gods Among Us (360, PS3, Wii U)
9. NBA 2K13 (360, PS3 ,Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
10. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (360, Wii, DS, PS3, 3DS, Wii U, Vita, PC)

July 2013 NPD: Animal Crossing is officially a system sell?er [GamesBeat via NeoGAF]

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