September NPD: Grand Theft Auto 5 sales boost industry [Update]
Good news, everyone! The NPD Group reports that the video game industry's performance in the physical retail sector was up by 27 percent year-over-year for the month of September: $1.07 billion this year versus $848 million last year.
Predictably, the majority of that boosted income came from the industry's software segment, also known as "where all that Grand Theft Auto 5 money lives." New physical sales for console and portable software during September totaled at $754.3 million, a 52 percent increase over the $497.5 million earned during the same period last year. GTA 5 understandably tops the list of September's 10 best-selling games, followed by Madden NFL 25 and NBA 2k14.
Hardware sales for the period brought in $183.2 million, which is 13 percent fewer millions than were earned in September of 2012. The Nintendo 3DS spent its fifth month as the best-selling thing in the segment, while Wii U sales increased "more than 200 percent" over August, though Nintendo abstained from providing specific numbers as to how many Wii U boxes that works out to.
Meanwhile, the PlayStation 3 broke the Xbox 360's long-running streak and was the best-selling console for the period, largely thanks to the system's available Grand Theft Auto 5 bundle, according to NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan.
The Accessories segment, which contains giftcards, digital currency vouchers, Skylanders/Disney Infinity figures and other various sundries, was essentially flat year-over-year, experiencing just a 2 percent increase in sales at $142.3 million.
Update: Microsoft has chimed in, noting that it reached 80 million sales to retailers of Xbox 360 worldwide in September, with console sales hitting $401.2 million. Unable to say the Xbox 360 was the No. 1-selling console last month, Microsoft instead says that it remains the top console in the US in 2013. Clever phrasing, team.
Grand Theft Auto 5 (360, PS3)
Madden NFL 25 (360, PS3)
NBA 2k14 (360, PS3, PC)
Diablo 3 (360, PS3, PC)**
FIFA 14 (360, PS3, Vita)
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (PS3)
Disney Infinity (360, WII, PS3, NWU, 3DS)
NHL 14 (360, PS3)
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (360)
Saints Row 4 (360, PS3, PC)
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Oct. 17, 2013
Nintendo News
Nintendo 3DS Repeats at No. 1, Wii U Responds Following Price Cut
Nintendo enters the critical holiday selling season with strong momentum, as Nintendo 3DS finished as the best-selling video game system in the U.S. for the fifth consecutive month and Wii U enjoyed new momentum following a price cut.
On Oct. 15, Nintendo revealed that Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, which launched globally on Oct. 12, combined to sell more than 4 million units worldwide during its first two days on the market. A full breakdown of U.S. sales for the games, as well as the new Nintendo 2DS handheld, which launched on the same day, will be included in next month's NPD report. In addition to the latest Pokémon adventure, Nintendo 3DS fans have two exciting games on the horizon, both launching on Nov. 22: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Mario Party: Island Tour.
On Sept. 20, Nintendo reduced the price of the Wii U Deluxe Set by $50 to a suggested retail price of $299.99 and introduced a limited-edition bundle that features a download code for a digital copy of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. Sales of Wii U hardware in September increased by more than 200 percent over sales in August, and that is with only 15 days of data being reported at the new price. Over the next few weeks and months, Wii U fans can look forward to playing Wii Party U (Oct. 25), Wii Fit U (Nintendo eShop, Nov. 1) Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (Nov. 15) and Super Mario 3D World (Nov. 22).
*Data regarding physical sales of games in September are from the NPD Group. Data regarding digital downloads of games and combined physical/digital life-to-date numbers are from Nintendo's internal sales figures. All numbers, unless otherwise stated, are specific to the United States only.
