Video Games retail / e-tail sales in U.S. May 2014
These sales figures represent new physical retail sales of hardware, software and accessories, which account for roughly 50 percent of the total consumer spend on games. When you consider our preliminary estimate for other physical format sales in May such as used and rentals at $124 million, and our estimate for digital format sales including full game and add-on content downloads including microtransactions, subscriptions, mobile apps and the consumer spend on social network games at $787 million, we would estimate the total consumer spend in May to be $1.46 billion. Our final assessment of the consumer spend in these areas outside of new physical retail sales will be reported in August in our Q2 Games Market Dynamics: U.S. report.
Continued growth across hardware and accessories, with a significant increase in new physical software spending, led to an overall spending increase in the new physical channel of 52 percent in May 2014 versus May 2013. The last time overall new physical channel growth saw a month-over-month increase of this magnitude was June 2008, with a 53 percent increase.
NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales (New Physical Sales Channel*) - May 2014
4-week month; Reporting Period 05/04/14 through 05/31/14
Dollar Sales | May'13 | May'14 | CHG |
Total Video Game Sales (New Physical Channel) | $387M | $586M | 52% |
Video Games Hardware | $96M | $187M | 95% |
Video Games Software (Console+Portable - New Physical Sales only) | $175M | $274M | 57% |
Video Games Accessories | $115M | $124M | 8% |
Total Software Sales - (Console+Portable+PC - New Physical Sales Only) | $188M | $284M | 51% |
Hardware
May 2014 marked the fifth consecutive month that Sony's PlayStation 4 led hardware sales.
As seen in prior months, the lift in hardware sales was driven by console hardware, which increased 137 percent in May 2014 (vs. May 2013). While much of May 2014's hardware growth was due to Xbox One and PS4, there was also year-over-year growth for the Wii U, and PS Vita.
Two examples of hardware bundles that helped to drive hardware sales in May 2014 include Mario Kart 8 bundle for the Wii U, and the Borderlands 2 bundle for the PS Vita.
Software
After 6 months of declines, software rebounded in May 2014 driven by new launches such as Watch_Dogs, Mario Kart 8, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
Collectively, May 2014 launches sold 800 percent more in dollar sales than May 2013 launches did their respective launch months. New launches represented 50 percent of dollar sales this month, which compared to only 9 percent for new launches in May 2013.
On the back of the number one title, Watch_Dogs, Ubisoft was the number one video game corporate publisher for the month.
| May 2014 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC) | Rank | Publisher |
| Watch Dogs (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)** | 1 | Ubisoft |
| Mario Kart 8 (NWU) | 2 | Nintendo |
| MLB 14: The Show (PS4, PS3, PSV) | 3 | Sony (Corp) |
| Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC) | 4 | Bethesda Softworks |
| Minecraft (360, PS3) | 5 | Microsoft (Corp) / Sony (Corp) |
| The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, 3DS, NWU) | 6 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| NBA 2K14 (360, PS4. PS3, XBO, PC)** | 7 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Titanfall (360, XBO, PC)** | 8 | Electronic Arts |
| Kirby: Triple Deluxe (3DS) | 9 | Nintendo |
| Call Of Duty: Ghosts (360, PS4, PS3, XBO, PC, NWU)** | 10 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
Accessories
Accessory sales increased by 8 percent due to the continued success of Video Game Point and Subscription Cards, Interactive Gaming Toys, and Gamepads. These three accessory types combined to grow 15% year-over-year from May 2013.
May 2014 marked the highest selling May data month for Video Game Point and Subscription Cards on record.