October-NPD
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October NPD: NBA 2K15, Smash Bros. 3DS lead in weak month for software sales [Update]
NPD results for the month of October place the 2K Sports behemoth NBA 2K15 in the lead, collectively across five platforms, with Super Smash Bros. 3DS in second – despite its single-platform status. Mario & Friends are still big moneymakers. Last month's powerhouse, Destiny, fell to fifth from first in October. New titles debuted strong: The Evil Within was the third best piece of tracked software for the month, followed by a fourth place appearance by Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. The latest Skylanders title, Skylanders: Trap Team, debuted at sixth causing The Sims 4, Disney Infinity 2.0 and Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls to fall from the top ten. Insomniac's Xbox One-exclusive Sunset Overdrive was the ninth best-selling title of the month, according to The NPD Group, but failed to appear on the group's combined platform, new physical software-only top ten list (it was also available in an Xbox One bundle). Sales across hardware, software and accessories "were essentially flat" compared to October 2013, The NPD Group's Liam Callahan said. Eighth-generation consoles made up 80 percent of dollar sales for the month – a 59 percent increase versus last year, a month before the Xbox One and PS4 launched – offsetting a 28 percent decline in software sales for October 2014 over the same reported period a year ago. [Update: Nintendo revealed that it sold over 485,000 copies of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS in North America in October, and has sold 1.2 million copies across digital and retail channels to date. The company additionally stated that Wii U hardware sales have seen a 47 percent jump in the first 10 months of 2014, compared to the same period in 2013.]
October NPD: Downward trend continues, NBA 2K13 dunks at the top
Based on the NPD's purview, the physical sales sector of the video game industry continued its downward year-over-year trend as October came and went, raking in $755.5 million for the period ending on October 27, as compared with the straight-up $1 billion the industry earned during the same period in 2011.Despite the 25 percent difference, however, momentum is building towards the holiday buying season, according to NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan: "While we saw declines in hardware unit sales across all platforms year-over-year, when looking at average sales per week versus September, several consoles realized higher sales: The 360, PS3, NDS and 3DS. This is a sign of increasing momentum as we move into the holiday season."Hardware sales themselves accounted for $187.3 million of October's overall figure, a 37 percent decrease over October 2011's $295.9 million. As usual, the Xbox 360 was the top-selling hardware platform and claimed more than 40 percent of the market, according to Major Nelson.Accessories continue to be the only field of growth in the physical channel, pulling down a five percent increase in October 2012 over October 2011 ($135.6 million and $129.6, respectively). As has been the case in months past, Skylanders toys and digital currency giftcards are primarily responsible for this segment's prosperity.Portable software sales were up 37 percent in comparison with last October thanks to the release of Pokémon Black & White 2, though the rest of the segment failed to best the curve and was down overall by 25 percent. October 2011's software figure of $576.8 million was bolstered by the release of both Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City; since comparable heavy-hitters were missing from this October's release schedule, software sales total at $432.6 million.October's top 10 best-selling games are lead by NBA 2K13, which "outsold last year's 2K12 by over 60 percent in both dollars and units," according to Callahan. As per usual, the full list can be found after the break.
