August 2019 NPD: A 20-year low for August game sales

Consumer spending on video games in the United States was down year-over-year in August, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. Here are the full results across all major game-related categories:

“August 2019 tracked spending across video game hardware, software, accessories, and game cards totaled $666 million, falling 18 percent when compared to a year ago,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “Declines were experienced across all categories.”

The poor performance in August dragged down the year overall.

“Year-to-date spending across tracked video game hardware, software, accessories, and game cards has fallen 6 percent when compared to 2018, to $7 billion,” said Piscatella. “Declines in hardware spending have offset slight growth in software sales.”

Let’s do the charts, and read more about the hardware and accessory results right here.

Software

NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but it also gets digital data directly from publishers. But not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its first-party sales, and Activision Blizzard does not provide its Battle.net sales.

These charts are sorted by dollar sales — not number of units sold.

1. Madden NFL 20**
2. Minecraft***
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Fire Emblem: Three Houses*
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
6. Super Mario Maker 2*
7. Mario Kart 8*
8. Mortal Kombat 11
9. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
10. Astral Chain*
11. Marvel’s Spider-Man
12. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
13. Red Dead Redemption II
14. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII**
15. Age of Wonders: Planetfall
16. Super Mario Party*
17. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order*
18. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
19. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan
20. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

*Does not include digital sales
**Does not include PC digital sales
***Minecraft digital sales include Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but not other digital sales.

You can probably tell by looking at the list above that August was not a great month for software sales. Minecraft, a 10-year-old game, was the second-best seller of the month. And 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V was No. 3. August had no new releases that made a dent unless you count Madden, which technically launched in NPD’s July tracking period.

And NPD confirmed that this was the worst August in terms of software sales in more than 20 years.

“Dollar sales of tracked video game software fell 22 percent in August versus a year ago, to $257 million,” said Piscatella. “This represents the lowest total software sales in an August month since August 1998, which was $234 million.”

Overall, 2019 is still on par with last year’s software sales, but that is due primarily to the newer of the three major console platforms.

“Year-to-date dollar sales of tracked video game software increased 1 percent, to $3.1 billion,” said Piscatella. “Nintendo Switch performance has driven the growth.”

Madden NFL 20

“Madden NFL 20 repeated as the month’s best-selling video game,” said Piscatella. “This is the seventh consecutive year in which a Madden NFL game was August’s best seller.  Madden NFL 20 is currently the third best-selling game of 2019.”

Minecraft

“Minecraft was the 2nd best-selling video game of August 2019, an all-time high placement on the best-sellers chart,” said Piscatella. “Minecraft currently ranks as the 13th best-selling game of 2019.”

Age of Wonder: Planetfall

“Age of Wonders: Planetfall from Triumph Studios and Paradox Interactive debuted as the 15th best-selling game of August,” said Piscatella. “This is the first release in the Age of Wonders franchise since Age of Wonders III launched in March, 2014. Age of Wonders: Planetfall generated the highest launch month sales of any title in franchise history.”

Nintendo

Five of the top 10 best-selling video games of August 2019 are Nintendo platform exclusives.  Astral Chain launched as the 10th best-selling game of August, the only new release to place among the top 10 sellers of the month.

The rest of the software charts

The 10 best-selling games of 2019 so far

1. Mortal Kombat 11
2. Kingdom Hearts III
3. Madden NFL 20**
4. Tom Clancy’s The Division 2**
5. Anthem**
6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
7. Resident Evil 2 2019
8. Grand Theft Auto V
9. Red Dead Redemption II
10. Days Gone

Top 10 best-selling games over the last 12 months

1. Red Dead Redemption II
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4**
3. NBA 2K19
4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
5. Marvel’s Spider-Man
6. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
7. Mortal Kombat 11
8. FIFA 19**
9. Madden NFL 19**
10. Battlefield V**

Xbox One

1. Madden NFL 20
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Minecraft
4. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
5. Red Dead Redemption II
6. Mortal Kombat 11
7. Forza Horizon 4
8. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
9. Overwatch
10. Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

PlayStation 4

1. Madden NFL 20
2. Minecraft
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII
6. Mortal Kombat 11
7. Red Dead Redemption II
8. Days Gone
9. MLB 19: The Show
10. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege

Nintendo Switch

1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses*
2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
3. Super Mario Maker 2*
4. Mario Kart 8*
5. Astral Chain*
6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
7. Super Mario Party*
8. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order*
9. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
10. Minecraft*

Nintendo 3DS

1. Pokemon: Ultra Sun*
2. Pokemon: Ultra Moon*
3. Super Mario Maker*
4. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D*
5. Super Mario 3D Land*
6. Super Smash Bros.*
7. Mario Kart 7*
8. Detective Pikachu*
9. Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth*
10. Animal Crossing: New Leaf*