Video Games retail / e-tail sales in U.S. October 2015
Overall sales across physical software, hardware, and accessories experienced a modest 2 percent growth in October 2015 compared to October 2014. This was driven entirely by accessory sales, which grew by 18 percent, or just under $30MM.
NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales (New Physical Sales Channel*) - October 2015
4-week month; Reporting Period 10/04/15 through 10/31/15
| Dollar Sales | Oct'14 | Oct'15 | CHG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Video Game Sales (New Physical Channel) | $788.7M | $805.9M | 2% |
| Video Games Hardware | $271.1M | $270.3M | 0% |
| Video Games Software (Console+Portable - New Physical Sales only) | $349.4M | $337.7M | -3% |
| Video Games Accessories | $168.2M | $197.9M | 18% |
| Total Software Sales - (Console+Portable+PC - New Physical Sales Only) | $358.3M | $341.9M | -5% |
Hardware
Hardware dollar sales were flat from October 2014 to October 2015, with sales totaling $270.3MM. Console sales were up 3 percent as portables declined 27 percent due to difficult comparisons to October 2014 sales.
Console hardware sales increased by 3 percent over October 2014. This was due entirely to 8th generation console hardware sales, which rose by 12 percent to offset the 66 percent decrease in hardware sales for 7th generation consoles.
Bundles were the primary way consumers were purchasing hardware this month, as bundles represented 96 percent of unit sales in October 2015, up from 53 percent in October 2014.
Software
In October 2015, new physical video game software sales decreased by 3 percent from October 2014, with trends mirroring hardware as console sales were offset by a 42 percent decline in portable sales. While console sales were up a modest 1 percent, 8th generation consoles had a strong month with 62 percent growth over October 2014 while 7th generation console sales dropped by 63 percent -higher than the year-to-date decrease in sales of 51 percent.
Another cause for the decrease in October new physical sales was the 4 percent decrease in dollar sales for new launches. New launch weakness, coupled with a 5 percent drop in the performance of Q3 launches, led to the overall category decline of 3 percent.
October 2015 saw the return of two key music genre franchises: Guitar Hero, and Rock Band. Rock Band 4 ranked 10th, and Guitar Hero: Live ranked 11th (based on units sold). However, the ranking changes to 4th and 6th, respectively, when ranking on dollars.
When ranking software on a SKU-basis, NWU SUPER MARIO MAKER would rank in the top 10 for October 2015.
| October 2015 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC) | Rank | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Halo 5: Guardians (XBO)** | 1 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| NBA 2K16 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)** | 2 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (PS4, XBO)** | 3 | Ubisoft |
| Madden NFL 16 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)** | 4 | Electronic Arts |
| WWE 2K16 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3) | 5 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| FIFA 16 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)** | 6 | Electronic Arts |
| Destiny: The Taken King (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3) | 7 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| Yoshi's Wooly World (NWU)** | 8 | Nintendo |
| Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (PS4) | 9 | Sony (Corp) |
| Rock Band 4 (XBO, PS4)** | 10 | Mad Catz |
Accessories
Video game accessory sales rose 18 percent in October 2015, with sales driven by point/subscription cards, gamepads and headsets/headphones.
Video game point/ subscription cards had a particularly large increase in sales, up 38 percent from October 2014, making this the best October for video game point/ subscription on record.
Gamepad sales increased by 29 percent year-over-year which was due to a 163 percent rise in Xbox One sales with the release of the Xbox One Elite Controller.
Turtle Beach was the leading manufacturer of headsets/headphones in October 2015, with sales supported due to the sales of its XBO Ear Force XO headset.