Video Games sales in U.S. (retail & digital) - February 2018
Analysis from NPD's VG industry analyst, Mat Piscatella
February 2018 spending across video game hardware, software and accessories grew 23 percent when compared to a year ago, to $995 million. Gains were achieved in Hardware as well as Accessories & Gamecard spending.
Year to date 2018 spending across video game hardware, software and accessories is up 39 percent when compared to the same period a year ago, to $2.1 billion. Growth has occurred across all categories, with Hardware being the primary sales performance driver.
NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales - February 2018
4-Week Reporting Period : 2/4/2018 through 3/3/2018
| Dollar Sales | Feb'17 | Feb'18 | CHG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Video Game Sales | $811m | $995m | 23% |
| Video Games Hardware | $204m | $316m | 55% |
| PC & Video Games Software (PC, Console and Portable; Physical and Full Game Digital Formats from the STEAM, PlayStation and Xbox platforms) | $397m | $397m | 0% |
| Video Games Accessories & Gamecards | $210m | $282m | 35% |
2018 / 2017
| Dollar Sales | 2017 YTD | 2018 YTD | Chg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Video Game Sales | $1,501m | $2,094m | 39% |
| Video Games Hardware | $332m | $594m | 79% |
| PC & Video Games Software (PC, Console and Portable ; Physical and Full Game Digital Formats from the Steam, PlayStation and Xbox platforms) | $740m | $916m | 24% |
| Video Games Accessories & Gamecards | $429m | $583m | 36% |
Software
Dollar sales of Console, Portable and PC Games Software combined to reach $397 million in February 2018, flat when compared to a year ago. Gains in Nintendo Switch spending offset declines across all other platforms. Year to date, software spending has grown 24 percent, to $916 million.
After leading the market in January, Monster Hunter : World repeated as the month's top-selling title overall, once again leading on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms. Unsurprisingly, Monster Hunter : World is currently 2018's best-selling game.
Call of Duty : WWII was February's second best-selling title, and remains the best-selling title for the 12-month period ending February 2018.
Mario Kart 8 returned to the top of the Nintendo Switch chart for the first time since May 2017.
Nintendo was February's leading publisher in software dollar sales, while Capcom remains the top-selling publisher of 2018.
February 2018 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales
| Title | Rank | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Monster Hunter: World | 1 | Capcom USA |
| Call of Duty: WWII | 2 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| NBA 2K18 | 3 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Dragon Ball: Fighterz | 4 | Bandai Namco Games (Corp) |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 5 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Shadow of Colossus 2018 | 6 | Sony (Corp) |
| UFC 3 | 7 | Electronic Arts |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance | 8 | Deep Silver |
| Mario Kart 8* | 9 | Nintendo |
| Super Mario Odyssey* | 10 | Nintendo |
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege | 11 | Ubisoft |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | 12 | Nintendo |
| Playerunknown's Battlegrounds^ | 13 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| Bayonetta 2* | 14 | Nintendo |
| Madden NFL 18 | 15 | Electronic Arts |
| Assassin's Creed: Origins | 16 | Ubisoft |
| FIFA 18^ | 17 | Electronic Arts |
| Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet | 18 | Bandai Namco Games (Corp) |
| The Sims 4^ | 19 | Electronic Arts |
| Star Wars: Battlefront II^ | 20 | Electronic Arts |
* Digital sales not included
^ PC digital sales not included
Hardware
Hardware spending in February 2018 grew 55 percent when compared to a year ago, to $316 million. Spending gains were driven by growth in Switch and Xbox One hardware sales. For the 2018 year-to-date period, hardware spending has increased 79 percent to $594 million.
Total hardware unit sales, dollar sales and average pricing were all up by double-digit percentages in February 2018 when compared to a year ago.
Console hardware spending reached the highest total for a February since 2014 ($345 million).
Sony's PlayStation 4 was the best-selling console in February, and remains the best-selling console year to date.
Nintendo Switch remains on a record-setting sales pace. Over the first twelve months in market, Nintendo Switch has achieved the highest installed base for a console platform in history.
Accessories & Gamecards
Total spending on Accessories and Gamecards grew 35 percent in Feburary 2018 when compared to a year ago, to $282 million, a record high for a February month. The previous record of $262 million was achieved in February 2016. Accessory and Gamecard spending has grown 36 percent for the year to date 2018 period, to $583 million.
Gamepad spending grew 46 percent versus a year ago. Gamepads were the month's best-selling accessory group. Headsets/Headphones, Power Supplies, Memory Cards and Case/Organizer categories all experienced double-digit percentage growth in the month. These gains offset a 75 percent decline in Interactive Gaming Toy sales.
The PS4 DualShock 4 Wireless Controller in Black was the month's best-selling accessory. It remains the best-selling accessory of 2018.