March 2019 U.S. video game sales report from The NPD Group
Analysis from NPD's VG industry analyst, Mat Piscatella
March 2019 tracked spending across video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards totaled $1.2 billion, declining 11 percent when compared to a year ago. Declines were experienced across all segments.
First quarter spending across tracked video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards has declined 2 percent when compared to 2018, to $3.2 billion. Gains in Software, as well as accessories and game cards, could not offset declines in hardware spending.
NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales - March 2019
5-Week Reporting Period : 3/3/2019 through 4/6/2019
Nintendo eShop Digital Full Game sales data for participating publishers is now included.
| March 2019 Dollar Sales | Mar'18 | Mar'19 | Chg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Video Game Sales | $1,325m | $1,179m | -11% |
| Video Games Hardware | $331m | $282m | -15% |
| PC & Video Games Software [1] | $617m | $547m | -11% |
| Video Games Accessories & Game Cards | $377m | $349m | -7% |
| 2019 Year-to-Date Dollar Sales | 2018 YTD (Adjusted)* | 2019 YTD | Chg |
| Total Video Game Sales | $3,222m | $3,152m | -2% |
| Video Games Hardware | $869m | $759m | -13% |
| PC & Video Games Software [1] | $1,439m | $1,464m | 2% |
| Video Games Accessories & Game Cards | $914m | $929m | 2% |
Software (All notes refer to dollar sales)
Dollar sales of tracked console, portable and PC video game software reached $547 million in March 2019, declining 11 percent when compared to a year ago.
First quarter dollar sales of tracked console, portable and PC video game software totaled $1.5 billion, 2 percent higher when compared to a year ago.
Tom Clancy's The Division 2 was the best-selling game of March 2019 and is now the second best-selling game of 2019. Launch month sales of Tom Clancy's The Division 2 are the sixth highest in history for an Ubisoft-published game.
Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice was the second best-selling game of March, and now ranks as the eigth best-selling game of the year. Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice represents the second highest launch month sales for a FromSoftware game, trailing only Dark Souls III which released in the April 2016 tracking period.
MLB 19 : The Show debuts as the third best-selling game of March. Launch month sales of MLB 19 : The Show are the highest in franchise history, and also set a new all-time high for a baseball genre game.
Devil May Cry 5 ranks fourth on the March best-sellers list, with the second highest launch month sales in franchise history, trailing only the February 2008 debut of Devil May Cry 4.
Kingdom Hearts III is now the best-selling game in franchise history with lifetime sales now exceeding those of the previous best in the franchise, Kingdom Hearts, which was released in the September 2002 tracking period.
March 2019 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales
| Title | Rank | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Clancy's The Division 2^ | 1 | Ubisoft |
| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice^ | 2 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| MLB 19: The Show | 3 | Sony (Corp) |
| Devil May Cry 5 | 4 | Capcom USA |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | 5 | Nintendo |
| Red Dead Redemption II | 6 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| NBA 2K19 | 7 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 8 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Yoshi's Crafted World* | 9 | Nintendo |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII^ | 10 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| Anthem^ | 11 | Electronic Arts |
| Mario Kart 8* | 12 | Nintendo |
| Jump Force | 13 | Bandai Namco Games (Corp) |
| New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe* | 14 | Nintendo |
| Far Cry New Dawn | 15 | Ubisoft |
| Minecraft# | 16 | Multi |
| Battlefield V^ | 17 | Electronic Arts |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | 18 | Nintendo |
| Borderlands | 19 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Assassin's Creed: Odyssey | 20 | Ubisoft |
Hardware
Hardware spending in March 2019 fell 15 percent when compared to a year ago, to $282 million ; and first quarter hardware spending declined 13 percent to $759 million.
Nintendo Switch was the best-selling hardware platform of both March as well as the first quarter across both unit and dollar sales.
Accessories & Game Cards
Total spending on accessories and game cards declined 7 percent in March 2019 when compared to a year ago, to $349 million. Gamepads were the best-selling accessory type for the month, with single-digit percentage growth when compared to a year ago.
First quarter spending on accessories and game cards increased 2 percent when compared to a year ago, to $929 million. As with March, gamepads represent the best-selling accessory type.
The PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 Wireless Controller Black is the best-selling gamepad of 2019 in both unit and dollar sales.