npd
Latest
November NPD: Black Ops 2 reigns in Black Friday month, Halo 4 follows
November was yet another month in which the physical retail video game industry brought in less cash than it did in 2011. Specifically, total sales for the month were down 11 percent: $2.55 billion this year, as compared with $2.87 billion during the same period last year. It's worth noting, however, that what the NPD Group considers "November" is actually October 28 through November 24, which means that sales from the Sunday and Monday following Black Friday did not contribute. When broken down into individual figures for hardware, software and accessories, the song remains much the same as it has been all year. Hardware sales pulled down $838.9 million dollars this November, which is 13 percent less than the $962.2 million from last year.As has become the routine, Microsoft holds top honors as far as console sales are concerned, with consumers purchasing 1.26 million Xbox 360s over the course of November and 750,000 during Black Friday week alone. Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii U sold 450,000 units during the seven days it was available on NPD's watch, with Wii sales trailing slightly behind at 420,000 units. 3DS sales piled up to 540,000 units, while 370,000 DS handhelds of varying type were also sold in November.The accessories segment has broken its streak as the only portion of the physical retail industry to perform better than its 2011 self, reporting a grand total of $280.9 million in sales for last month, which is a year-over-year decrease of eight percent. Despite the drop, Skylanders figure sales were up 250 percent.Software sales mirrored the overall industry's percentage drop, taking an 11 percent dive down to just $1.46 billion dollars, as opposed to the $1.65 billion it earned last year. Unsurprisingly, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Halo 4 and Assassin's Creed 3 lead the charge on the list of November's top 10 best-selling games, which as always can be found after the break.
NPD: Windows 8 not yet providing boost to slow PC market
Microsoft is pretty happy about how Windows 8 is doing, but 40 million license sales isn't exactly translating to a boon for the PC market. According to NPD, sales of Windows-powered devices are 21 percent lower than they were during the same time period last year -- October 21 through November 17. Of course, Windows 8 didn't actually hit shelves until the 26th, which may have skewed the numbers a bit as consumers held out for the latest and greatest from Redmond. The weakness of the desktop and laptop market are partially to blame, but while license sales for Windows 8 are outpacing its predecessor, there is some cause for concern. Specifically that, after a few weeks, the touch friendly revamp of the OS is only shipping on about 58 percent of new machines. Four weeks after the launch of Windows 7, it was preloaded on 83 percent of new hardware. Worse yet, according to the NPD, tablet sales "have been almost non-existent." Of course, things could pick up as we enter the holiday season, but it's not entirely clear that Windows 8 will be able to lift the sagging PC market on its back. The full PR awaits you after the break.
NPD: Digital game sales up 22 percent in Q3, almost the majority slice of a $2.87 billion pie
Take one look at NPD's quarterly gaming sales report and it'll be hard to deny that digital distribution now carries the industry's momentum. For the months of July through September, digital sales were pegged at $1.4 billion, which represents a 22 percent increase over Q3 2011. In comparison, new physical sales declined by 16 percent year-over-year, which raked in $1.07 billion for the industry. It's only when the used and rental markets are taken into consideration -- which snagged $399 million in change -- that physical sales remain ahead of the digital game. A broader look at the video game industry reveals a bit of stagnation, as overall sales have declined by one percent when compared to Q3 2011. With that in mind, perhaps you'll consider making a few extra downloads this holiday season, just to nudge things along.
NPD: Dishonored sold 460K in October, XCOM hit 114K
October had two scrappy underdogs in Dishonored and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The meticulous murder-em-up sold 460,200 units, according to the NPD, while the XCOM revamp from Firaxis sold 114,000 units.Dishonored and XCOM: Enemy Unknown launched on October 9 for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and through digital distribution, and later shared shelf space with big hitters like Assassin's Creed 3, NBA 2K13, Forza Horizon and NBA Baller Beats (kidding).The NPD only chronicles boxed retail sales in North America, so we don't have a full picture of the sales performance of either Dishonored or XCOM: Enemy Unknown. We already followed up with 2K for XCOM specifics, but the publisher told us it does not "comment on sales figures."
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.
NPD study finds average display sizes continuing to rise in all areas but laptops and tablets
Not exactly a huge surprise here, but a new study out from NPD DisplaySearch today has confirmed that the trend towards larger screens in continuing at a steady pace in all but a few key areas. The big exception is "mobile PCs," which NPD defines as laptops and tablets for its purposes. That area dropped from a 13.6-inch average in 2010 to 12.1-inch in 2012 (with an ever so slight increase to 12.2-inches projected for 2013), a drop that represents a ten percent decrease overall and is largely attributed to the growth of tablets . All other areas have seen small to significant growth in recent years, with LCD TVs growing 9 percent, mobile phones increasing 38 percent, and portable media players jumping 29 percent. The biggest growth, by far, comes in OLED TVs, which have gone from a mere 15-inch average in 2010 to an average of 55-inches today -- a growth of 267 percent.
Analyst: Borderlands 2 sold 1.4 million in US [Update: NPD confirms]
Even though Borderlands 2 bested sales of the first game by 234%, it wasn't able to sell more copies than Madden NFL 13 in September. According to Macquarie Capital analyst Ben Schachter, 1.4 million physical copies of Borderlands 2 were sold in the US at retail since its launch – we've reached out to the NPD for exact September sales. Update: NPD has confirmed with Joystiq that Borderlands 2 sold 1.4 million copies at retail in September. That figure doesn't take into account copies of Borderlands 2 sold digitally, via Steam on PC or as part of the Day 1 initiative on the PlayStation Network. GI.biz says Schachter forecasted a total of three million in sales during the last three months of this year, accounting for the aforementioned digital distribution channels.Borderlands 2 recently released its new character class – the Mechromancer – and will get the first of four DLC content packages on October 16. 'Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty' will be available across all platforms for $9.99 and free to owners of the Borderlands 2 content Season Pass.
NPD: Hardware sales up, Borderlands 2 beats 1's sales by 234%
According to the latest report from NPD, sales of the DS, 3DS, PS3, Vita and Xbox 360 are up on an "average sales per week" basis compared with August, suggesting momentum heading into the holiday season. The Wii U "has the potential to reinvigorate retail sales of hardware" when it drops on November 18 in the US, NPD analyst Liam Callahan says.Madden NFL 13 was the top-selling game in September, with an 11 percent increase in its debut month than Madden NFL 12 saw last year. Borderlands 2 takes second, exceeding 2009's Borderlands first-month sales by 234 percent. September software sales at retail are down 13 percent year-over-year; September 2011 saw major games such as Gears of War 3 and Dead Island. September sales are up 67 percent from August's light haul. PC sales are up 12 percent year-on-year.Nintendo 3DS software is up 89 percent year-over-year, spurred by 3DS XL hardware sales and Super Mario Bros. 2, which sold 295,000 units in its second month. However, combined 3DS and DS software sales are down 18 percent. As Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter says, "That's not a good trend."For Microsoft, Xbox 360 sold 270,000 units in September and remains the top-selling current-generation console, with 49 percent of the market, Major Nelson tweets.EA has five of the top 10 games for September, all of which are listed in order below:
NPD: Android users chew an average 870MB of cellular data per month, youngest gobble the most
Ever wonder how much data you burn through every month on average? If you're an Android user within the US, odds are that it's quite a lot. The NPD Group estimates that Americans of the Google persuasion typically consume about 870MB of data on cellular networks every month. While it's not an extreme amount next to the 2.5GB of WiFi usage, it's enough to give anyone second thoughts about coasting on a basic data plan -- and a reflection of how both 4G and media apps have changed our behavior. Not surprisingly, it's a younger crowd more comfortable with smartphones that's the most aggressive: the 18-24 set races through 1.05GB a month where the 55-plus audience uses a more modest (if still healthy) 750MB. We don't yet know how iOS stacks up in current conditions, but the NPD is promising a comparable look soon. Something tells us the iPhone 5's LTE will lead to just as much voraciousness.
NPD: Sleeping Dogs sold 172K across PS3 and Xbox 360 in August
Darksiders 2 managed to come out on top in August NPD-tracked sales, selling 247,000 copies across PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, whereas Sleeping Dogs sold 172,000 across PS3 and Xbox 360, an NPD rep confirmed with Joystiq.PC sales for Sleeping Dogs were omitted from the report because it was only available as a download – no boxed retail version for the PC is available in the US.
NPD: Darksiders 2 sold 247K copies in August
Darksiders 2 brought Death to top of the NPD charts for the month of August, having launched on August 14 in North America. In close to two weeks – the cut-off for NPD's August period was August 25 – the Vigil Games sequel managed to move 247,000 copies at retail, GI.biz reports. This figure doesn't account for international sales or Steam, and is perhaps a muted victory in a month that saw software sales go down year-over-year.A lot is riding on Darksiders 2, the first major release under newly appointed THQ president Jason Rubin. It's undoubtedly setting the tone for his THQ, which he hopes will get back to prosperity by focusing on games with the highest potential for success. This move has seen THQ drop Guillermo Del Toro's Insane and roll Saints Row 3's Dominatrix DLC into a full sequel.
August NPD: Software sales stabilize somewhat, Darksiders 2 takes first place [Update: Nintendo chimes in]
Despite the fact that hardware and software sales in the physical channel are still down when compared to August in 2011, market stabilization in the software sector (along with promising signs from the first week of 3DS XL sales) helps to reassure that 2012's ever-downward spiral may not be eternal.Hardware sales for August 2012 were down 39 percent, bringing in $150.6 million versus the $248.8 million accrued during the same period in 2011. The Xbox 360 sold 190,000 units and was again the top selling platform of the month, according to Major Nelson, though the 3DS and PS3 both showed increases over July 2011, despite the month being down as a whole. Only one week of 3DS XL sales were recorded, but in that week enough units were sold to account for 44 percent of all 3DS sales in August.The accessories segment continued its trend of having the smallest percentage amount of year-over-year loss at $127.3 million for the period, which is down seven percent from August 2011's $137 million. Points cards and other physical means of buying online currency continue to drive this segment, according to NPD Group industry analyst Anita Frazier.As far as software is concerned, August 2012's performance was down nine percent – $237.7 million as compared to $261.8 million during the same period last year. When only looking at software for "high definition platforms," however, the year-over-year difference is only one percent. This signifies market stabilization, says Frazier, but August's sales were worse than they could have been had the months prior not been so devoid of new releases.Darksiders 2 was the best-selling game during the period, followed by New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. As always, August's complete list of the top 10 games can be found after the break.Nintendo Update: 3DS hardware sales were up 36 percent over July, while 3DS software sales were up 68 percent, Nintendo has said. New Super Mario Bros. 2 sold more than 240,000 copies, making it the best-selling individual SKU for the month of August. Meanwhile, Kingdom Hearts 3D sold over 180,000 copies.
NPD: Number of US mobile gamers surpasses core, totals down
There are 211.5 million people playing games in the United States, a loss of 12 million players (5 percent) from 2011's numbers, the NPD reports. Not all of the gaming categories lost players, however: Mobile gamers rose 9 percentage points to take 22 percent, and digital gamers gained 4 percentage points to 16 percent. This makes mobile gamers the largest audience segment, surpassing core gamers, which held the top spot in 2011.The remaining categories – core, family and kid, light PC, and avid PC gamers – lost 17.4 million people this year. This is a "slight decline," the NPD says."Given the long lifecycles of the current consoles and the increasing installed base of smartphones and tablets, it's not surprising to see a slight decline in the core gamer segment," Anita Frazier, industry analyst for the NPD, says. "It's the revenue contribution of the core gamer segment that continues to outpace all other segments, and remains vital to the future of the industry."People buying games spent an average of $48 on physical copies and $16 on digital games from June to August. Core gamers spent the most on physical games, at $65. Almost 14 percent of all gamers purchased microtransactions or additional game content in the past three months, up from 11 percent in the same period in 2011; 27 percent of core gamers and 23 percent of digital gamers purchased in-game content.
NPD report: America's gamer population is shrinking, mobile overtakes consoles
Is the video game industry finally returning to earth after years of sustained growth? Possibly, although a new market research report that suggests a shrinking gamer population comes with some rather significant caveats. First off, the report by the NPD Group claims that 211.5 million people are playing video games in the U.S. this year, which is approximately two-thirds of the country's total population. That number is 12 million less than in 2011, though (a five percent drop). Console gamers, light PC gamers, avid PC gamers, and family/kid gamers saw the biggest drop, but the downloadable/online and mobile gamer segments experienced substantial growth. According to NPD, mobile gamers now constitute the largest market share, edging out core console gamers at 22 percent of the total.
NPD: Xbox 360 ruled a steadily declining video game empire in July
Microsoft must sometimes feel like its lead in the game market is a Pyrrhic victory. The Xbox 360 once again topped the NPD Group's hardware charts in July, claiming a near-majority 49 percent market share of consoles -- but the 203,000 units sold were a steep drop from the 257,000 units that traded hands in June, and a far cry from the glory days that would have given a victory more meaning. Nintendo and Sony haven't shared their own figures, although the analyst group notes that only Nintendo's 3DS and DSi had any kind of increase in the month. The industry as a whole was unmistakably feeling the combined effects of the pre-holiday doldrums and a console generation that's long in the tooth: hardware revenue was down 32 percent in the month to $150.7 million, while the games in question saw revenue dip 23 percent to $260.7 million. If you need a culprit, earlier reports for the second quarter had credited similar shifts to sales of physical game copies declining faster than digital sales could replace them. Hope remains in the usual fall spike; even so, the July figures suggest the big three platforms might be living on borrowed time.
July NPD: Downward year over year trend continues, NCAA Football 13 tops sales [Update: Microsoft responds]
This year's long and storied history of an ever-declining physical sales channel in the gaming industry continued during the month of July, as overall sales performance in the non-digital spectrum brought down 20 percent fewer dollars than in 2011 – $548.4 million in July of 2012 versus $686.3 million during the same period last year.As far as hardware sales are concerned, the 3DS was the only hardware to see an increase in sales year over year, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier. In fact, the 3DS and DS were also the only two products to see a sales increase over June 2012. In total, hardware sales added up to $150.7 million, down 32 percent from July 2011's $221.4 million.Accessories, on the other hand, continued the upward year-over-year trend seen last month, with the increase again attributed to virtual currency cards and Skylanders figures. The sector's eight percent increase over July 2011 amounts to $136.9 million.Physical software sales suffered a 23 percent decline over July 2011, $260.7 million as opposed to $338.5 million, respectively. NCAA Football 13 leads the pack of July's ten best selling games, followed by last month's champion Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, as well as The Amazing Spider-Man. As per usual, the full list can be found after the break.Update: Microsoft's response has also been added beyond the veil.
NPD: Apple, Samsung control 55 percent of the smartphone market, prepaid sales up 91 percent
According to NPD Group, Apple and Samsung control more than half of the American smartphone market. The second-quarter figures reveal that while contract phone sales are flatter than month-old soda, those for pre-paid handsets have shot up by 91 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The upswing is credited to last year's flagship handsets falling down the price ladder, snaring lower-income customers who were unable to afford to be early adopters. Cornering that element of the market has helped the battling duo increase their sales by 43 percent, leaving the rest of the technology pantheon scraping around for crumbs. Speaking of which, HTC is a distant third, having 15 percent of the market, while Motorola (12 percent) and LG (six percent) round out the top five.
NPD: Nintendo 3DS sales hit 5 million in US, Xbox 360 still claims the console crown
The NPD Group's gaming figures for June have made the rounds, and both Microsoft as well as Nintendo have something to crow about, albeit for very different reasons. Nintendo is the most eager to prove itself and says that the 3DS has hit five million total sales in the US since it reached gamers' hands in the country. The tally doesn't compete with the heady numbers smartphone designers are used to, but it's a milestone for a handheld console whose prospects were dim until a sudden price cut fueled sales a year ago. Before Nintendo lets the 155,000 3DS units it sold in June get to its head, however, it's important to get context from Microsoft's own achievements: Redmond shipped 257,000 Xbox 360 units that month and has had the lead among all US consoles for the past year and a half. We're in the dark on Sony data, although it's important that just 90,000 Wii units traded hands in the same month -- as clear a sign as any that the Wii U can't come quickly enough for Satoru Iwata and company.
June NPD: Lego Batman 2 on top, hardware and software sales still down year over year
This year's overall downward trend in software and hardware sales continued through June, according to the latest set of data released by the NPD Group. The whole industry (hardware, physical software and accessories sales) brought in $699.8 million, 29 percent less dough than the $989.5 million earned in June of 2011.Year over year, hardware sales were down a staggering 45 percent -- $201.3 million in 2012 versus $364.9 million in 2011. That being said, all platforms (except the PS2 and PSP) saw increased sales over May due to Father's Day and high-school/college graduation gift shopping, although the "Dads and Grads" effect was less potent than it was in 2011, according to the NPD Group's Anita Frazier. Conversely, accessories were up year over year, if just barely, due mostly to sales of points cards (XBLA points, Steam Wallet cards, etc), which is indicative of a trend towards digital gaming spurred on by a lack of new titles at retail, says Frazier. The segment pulled down four percent more in 2012 ($169.8 million) than in 2011 ($163.00 million). Physical software sales, totaling up at $328.7 million for the month, contributed 29 percent fewer funds to June's totals than they did last year, when software equaled $461.6 million.As far as specific software is concerned, a list of the 10 best-selling games in June is tucked away after the break, as per usual. List topper Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes sold 450,000 units across all consoles in June, which the NPD Group attributes to an increased amount of Batman mind-share in the public consciousness due to the impending release of The Dark Knight Rises. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Diablo 3 came in second and third for the month, with the rest of the list being a mish-mash of the surprising (Pokemon Conquest? Batman: Arkham City?!) and predictable mainstay entries like Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.
3DS has sold over 5 million in US to date
The 3DS has surpassed five million units sold in the United States, Nintendo announced today. Contributing to that new milestone: over 155,000 3DS systems were sold in the US in the month of June, according to NPD data cited by Nintendo.In addition, Nintendo moved "more than 150,000 units of the Nintendo DS family and nearly 95,000 Wii consoles." In terms of 3DS software, Nintendo revealed new life-to-date totals for three million-sellers: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (over 1 million), Super Mario 3D Land (2.1 million), and Mario Kart 7 (1.75 million). If there's a conclusion that can be drawn from this, it's that not enough people bought Kid Icarus Uprising.
