November 2018 U.S. video game sales report from The NPD Group

Analysis from NPD's VG industry analyst, Mat Piscatella

November 2018 tracked spending across video game Hardware, Software, Accessories and Game Cards totaled $2.7 billion, flat when compared to a year ago. Gains in Hardware, Accessories and Game Card spending were offset by a decline in Software due to the shift of the launch of Call of Duty into the October month.

Year-to-date spending across video game Hardware, Software, Accessories and Game Cards has grown 16 percent when compared to the same period a year ago, to $13.2 billion. This is the highest year-to-date total spend achieved since the $13.9 billion achieved between January and November 2010.

NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales - November 2018
4-Week Reporting Period : 11/4/2018 through 12/1/2018

Software

Dollar sales of Console, Portable and PC Games Software totaled $1 billion in November 2018, declining 15 percent when compared to a year ago. The shift in launch timing for Call of Duty from November to October is the driver of the change.

Year-to-date dollar sales of Console, Portable and PC Games Software exceeded $5.8 billion, a 9 percent increase over the same time period last year. This is the highest year-to-date total for Software spending since the $7 billion achieved in the year-to-date 2011 comparable period.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best-selling game of November 2018 and is the 2nd best-selling game year-to-date. With two months in market, sales of Red Dead Redemption 2 now exceed the lifetime sales of the previous title in the franchise, Red Dead Redemption, by nearly 40 percent.

Call of Duty : Black Ops IIII is the second best-selling game of November, and remains the best-selling game year to date. Call of Duty : Black Ops IIII is the second fastest selling game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in history, trailing only 2017's Call of Duty : WWII. This is the fifth consecutive year, and ninth time

in the last 10 years, that a title from the Call of Duty franchise has been the best-selling game over the January through November time period.

Fallout 76 is the 4th best-selling game of November, despite digital not being reported for Bethesda Softworks published titles. Fallout 76 physical sales achieved the third highest launch month sales in franchise history, trailing only Fallout 4 and Fallout New Vegas.

Pokemon : Let's Go Pikachu and Pokemon : Let's Go Eevee are the #5 and #6 best-selling games of November, respectively. Launch month sales of Pokemon : Let's Go Pikachu are the second highest in franchise history, trailing only Pokeman Stadium, which launched on the Nintendo 64 in the March 2000 tracking period. Please note that Pokemon Let's Go sales totals include only physical sales, as digital sales are not currently reported for Nintendo published titles.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is the #9 best-selling game of November. The launch month dollar sales of Spyro Reignited Trilogy are more than 30 percent higher than the combined launch month sales of all other Spyro games in history (excluding Skylanders).

God of War returns to the monthly top 20 best-sellers list for the first time since August, ranking as the #16 best-selling game of November. It is currently the #7 best-selling game year-to-date.

November 2018 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales

Hardware

Hardware spending in November 2018 grew 3 percent when compared to a year ago, to $3.9 billion. Significant growth in Nintendo Switch spending offset declines in spending experienced across all other platforms.

For the 2018 year-to-date period, hardware spending has increased 14 percent, to $3.9 billion. Spending gains for Xbox One, Switch, PlayStation 4 and Plug N Play devices such as the NES Classic Edition and SNES Classic Edition have driven growth.

For the first time in history, three Console platforms achieved more than 1 million units sold in a November month, as the Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One each generated over 1.3m units of sales. It is only the second time in history any 3 platforms achieved more than 1 million units sold in a November period, the first occurred in November 2010, when the Nintendo DS, Wii and Xbox 360 achieved the feat.

Nintendo Switch was the leading hardware platform of November 2018 in dollar sales. The PlayStation 4 remains the leader in hardware platform dollar sales year to date.

Accessories & Game Cards

Total spending on Accessories and Game Cards grew 35 percent in November 2018 when compared to a year ago, to an all-time high of $503 million.

Year to date, Accessories and Game Card spending has grown 35 percent when compared to a year ago, to $3.5 billion. This is also an all-time high.