October 2020 NPD: Nintendo and FIFA power gaming’s growth

Gaming fans in the United States didn’t shy away from spending on their hobby in the month before the launch of next-gen consoles. Instead, consumers opened their wallets for big sports games and Nintendo Switch in October. This once again led to year-over-year growth for games-industry spending in the U.S., according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group.

Gaming continues to prove its resilience in the face of tumultuous economic times for most people. Industry sales were up in October and the year-so-far compared to the same period in 2019.

“Consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories reached $3.8 billion in October 2020, 14% higher when compared to a year ago,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “Mobile, subscription, hardware, and accessories were among the largest growth segments. Year-to-date spending totaled $37.5 billion, 20% higher than the same period in 2019.”

Let’s get to the software sales.

October 2020 NPD: Nintendo Switch leads hardware

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 digital sales, and Activision Blizzard does not provide its Battle.net sales, and Take-Two doesn’t always share its digital sales.

It was another strong month for Nintendo software.

“Nine of the top 20 best-selling titles of October were published by Nintendo,” Piscatella said.

But EA Sports games FIFA 21, Madden NFL 21, and NHL 21 made up three of the top four spots on the chart.

FIFA 21

FIFA usually performs well on the NPD charts, but its October 2020 performance suggests the growing appeal of the brand in the United States.

“FIFA 21 was the best-selling game of October, the first time a FIFA franchise release has launched at No. 1 in the U.S. market,” Piscatella said. “FIFA 21 was the best-selling game of October on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms.”

Watch Dogs: Legion

Watch Dogs: Legion launched October 29, which put it at the end of the reporting period. But it was still able to work its way near the top of the chart.

“Watch Dogs: Legion debuted as the third best-selling game of October, despite having only three days of sales tracking in the month,” Piscatella said. “Watch Dogs: Legion was the second best-selling game of the month on Xbox platforms, and third best-selling game of the month on PlayStation platforms.

NHL 21

October was also a strong month for EA’s hockey game.

“NHL 21 entered the charts as the fourth best-selling game of October,” Piscatella said. “Launch month dollar sales were the highest for an NHL release since the September 2015 launch of NHL 16.”

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

Nintendo’s remote-controlled Mario Kart toy/game also debuted in October. This $100 bundle comes with an AR-powered car, and that price tag didn’t prevent it from getting off to a fast start.

“Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit ranked as the fifth best-selling game of October, and was the best-selling game on Nintendo platforms,” Piscatella said.

Best-selling games so far in 2020

Best-selling games of the last 12 months

October 2020 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo games

October 2020 NPD: Top 10 best-selling PlayStation games

October 2020 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Xbox games