July 2019 U.S. video game sales report from The NPD Group
Analysis from NPD's VG industry analyst, Mat Piscatella
July 2019 tracked spending across video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards totaled $762 million, slightly higher than a year ago. Gains in software spending due to the shift of Madden NFL into the July tracking month offset declines across hardware, accessories and game cards.
Year-to-date spending across tracked video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards has fallen 4 percent when compared to 2018, to $6.4 billion. Declines in hardware spending have offset growth in software sales.
NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales - July 2019
4-Week Reporting Period : 7/7/2019 through 8/3/2019
| July 2019 Dollar Sales | July'18 | July'19 | CHG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Video Game Sales | $759m | $762m | 0% |
| Video Games Hardware | $217m | $169m | -22% |
| PC & Video Games Software ** | $253m | $340m | 34% |
| Video Games Accessories & Game Cards | $289m | $254m | -12% |
| 2019 Year-to-Date Dollar Sales | 2018 YTD (Adjusted)* | 2019 YTD | CHG |
| Total Video Game Sales | $6,640m | $6,361m | -4% |
| Video Games Hardware | $1,847m | $1,466m | -21% |
| PC & Video Games Software ** | $2,758m | $2,888m | 5% |
| Video Games Accessories & Game Cards | $2,035m | $2,007m | -1% |
*2018 YTD adjusted to include same number of tracking weeks in year
** Physical and Full Game Digital Formats from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam and Xbox platforms
Software (All notes refer to dollar sales)
Dollar sales of tracked video game software reached $340 million in July 2019, 34 percent higher than a year ago. This change was driven by the shift of Madden NFL into the July 2019 tracking period after it launched in the August 2018 tracking period.
Year-to-date dollar sales of tracked video game software have increased 5 percent, to $2.9 billion. Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 have experienced software sales growth year to date.
Madden NFL 20 was July's best-selling video game. This is the 20th consecutive year that a Madden NFL franchise game has been the best-selling title of its release month. Madden NFL 20 immediately becomes the 8th best-selling game of 2019 year to date. Madden Football remains the best-selling sports property in U.S. history.
Fire Emblem : Three Houses was the second best-selling video game of July 2019. Fire Emblem : Three Houses represents the largest launch of a Fire Emblem game in U.S. history, with launch month sales tripling those of the previous best-seller in release month, Fire Emblem Echoes : Shadows of Valentia. Fire Emblem : Three Houses instantly becomes the second best-selling game in franchise lifetime sales, trailing only Fire Emblem : Awakening.
Mortal Kombat 11 is the best-selling video game of 2019 year to date. Lifetime sales of Mortal Kombat 11 are now the second highest in franchise history, as only Mortal Kombat X has generated higher dollar sales. Mortal Kombat 11 is now the fifth best-selling fighting game in history.
Six of the top 10 best-selling video games of July 2019 are Nintendo platform exclusives.
July 2019 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales
| Title | Rank | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Madden NFL 20^ | 1 | Electronic Arts |
| Fire Emblem: Three Houses* | 2 | Nintendo |
| Super Mario Maker 2* | 3 | Nintendo |
| Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order* | 4 | Nintendo |
| Minecraft# | 5 | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 6 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | 7 | Nintendo |
| Mortal Kombat 11 | 8 | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| Mario Kart 8* | 9 | Nintendo |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | 10 | Nintendo |
| Marvel's Spider-Man | 11 | Sony (Corp) |
| Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege | 12 | Ubisoft |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII^ | 13 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled | 14 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| Red Dead Redemption II | 15 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Tom Clancy's The Division 2^ | 16 | Ubisoft |
| MLB 19: The Show | 17 | Sony (Corp) |
| New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe* | 18 | Nintendo |
| NBA 2K19 | 19 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Assassin's Creed: Odyssey | 20 | Ubisoft |
Hardware
Hardware spending in July 2019 fell 22 percent when compared to a year ago, to $169 million. Year-to-date hardware spending has declined 21 percent versus year ago, to $1.5 billion. Spending declined across all in market console platforms in July, while only Nintendo Switch has experienced sales gains year to date.
Nintendo Switch was once again the best-selling hardware platform of July and remains 2019's hardware sales leader.
Accessories & Game Cards
Total July 2019 spending on accessories and game cards declined 12 percent when compared to a year ago, to $254 million.
Year-to-date sales of accessories and game cards have fallen 1 percent when compared to a year ago, to $2.0 billion. Growth in gamepad spending has not been able to offset declines across other segments.
The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller was July 2019's best-selling accessory, while the PlayStation 4 DualShock 4 Black remains the year's leading seller.