June 2020 U.S. digital / retail / e-tail video game sales report from The NPD Group
Analysis from NPD's VG industry analyst, Mat Piscatella
June 2020 tracked spending across video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards totaled $1.2 billion, gaining 26 percent when compared to a year ago. This is the highest tracked spend for a June month since $1.3 billion was reached in June 2009.
Year-to-date tracked spending across video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards reached $6.6 billion, an increase of 19 percent when compared to a year ago. This is the highest total for the year-to-date period since $7.0 billion was achieved in 2010.
The NPD Group - U.S. Games Industry Sales - June 2020
Reporting Period : 5/31/2020 through 7/4/2020
| June 2020 Dollar Sales, Millions | Jun'19 | Jun'20 | CHG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Video Game Sales | $934 | $1 178 | 26% |
| Video Game Hardware | $231 | $191 | -17% |
| Video Game Software * | $382 | $570 | 49% |
| Video Game Accessories & Game Cards | $322 | $417 | 29% |
| 2020 Year-to-Date Dollar Sales, Millions | 2019 YTD | 2020 YTD | CHG |
| Total Video Game Sales | $5 572 | $6 630 | 19% |
| Video Game Hardware | $1 303 | $1 623 | 25% |
| Video Game Software * | $2 549 | $3 026 | 19% |
| Video Game Accessories & Game Cards | $1 721 | $1 982 | 15% |
* Physical and Full Game Digital Formats from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam and Xbox platforms for DLP Participants
Software (All notes refer to dollar sales)
June dollar sales of tracked video game software grew 49 percent compared to a year ago, to $570 million. This is the highest total for a June month since the $598 million reached in 2010. Year-to-date sales total $3.0 billion, 19 percent higher when compared to a year ago.
The Last of Us : Part II was June's best-selling game and is now the third best-selling game of the year. The Last of Us : Part II now ranks as the eighth best-selling game of the 12-month period ending June.
The Last of Us : Part II achieved the highest launch month dollar sales of any 2020 release to date. The Last of Us : Part II reached the second highest launch month dollar sales for a Sony-published game in history. Only Marvel's Spider-Man achieved a larger debut in its September 2018 launch month.
Ring Fit Adventure ranked as the seventh best-selling game of June, after finishing May ranked at 835. New stock entering the market drove the increase.
Persona 4 Golden returned to the best-sellers chart for the month, ranking at #18 following the launch of the title on Steam.
June 2020 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales
| Rank | Last Month Rank | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New | The Last of Us : Part II | Sony (Corp) |
| 2 | 1 | Call of Duty : Modern Warfare | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 3 | 3 | Animal Crossing : New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 4 | 2 | Grand Theft Auto V | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 5 | 5 | Mortal Kombat 11 | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 6 | 6 | Red Dead Redemption II | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 7 | 835 | Ring Fit Adventure | Nintendo |
| 8 | 4 | NBA 2K20 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 9 | 11 | Mario Kart 8 : Deluxe* | Nintendo |
| 10 | 14 | Minecraft Dungeons* | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 11 | 18 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 12 | 23 | Rainbow Six : Siege [Tom Clancy's] | Ubisoft |
| 13 | 16 | Minecraft : PlayStation 4 Edition | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 14 | 27 | The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
| 15 | 9 | Star Wars : Jedi : Fallen Order | Electronic Arts |
| 16 | 21 | Borderlands 3 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 17 | 12 | Need for Speed : Heat | Electronic Arts |
| 18 | 615 | P4G : Persona 4 Golden | Sega/Atlus |
| 19 | New | SpongeBob SquarePants : Battle for Bikini Bottom : Rehydrated | Nordic Games |
| 20 | 8 | Assassin's Creed : Odyssey | Ubisoft |
* Digital sales on Nintendo eShop not included
Hardware
Hardware spending declined 17 percent in June 2020 when compared to a year ago, to $191 million. This is the first month of year-on-year declines since February. Year-to-date spending has increased 25 percent compared to a year ago, to $1.6 billion.
Nintendo Switch was once again the best-selling hardware platform of June in both unit and dollar sales.
Accessories & Game Cards
June 2020 spending on video game accessories and game cards reached $417 million, increasing 29 percent when compared to a year ago. Year-to-date spending has increased 15 percent, to $2.0 billion. Both dollar sales totals represent all-time highs.
New dollar sales records for a June month were set across a number of accessories categories including gamepads, headsets/headphones, steering wheels and controller enhancements.
The Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller was the best-selling accessory of June and 2020 year-to-date (dollar sales).