November 2019 U.S. digital/retail/e-tail video game sales report from The NPD Group
Analysis from NPD's VG industry analyst, Mat Piscatella
November 2019 tracked spending across video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards totaled $2.3 billion, declining 19 percent when compared to a year ago. Year-to-date spending has fallen 12 percent when compared to 2018, to $11.6 billion.
NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales - November 2019
4-Week Reporting Period : 11/3/2019 through 11/30/2019
| November 2019 Dollar Sales | Nov'18 | Nov'19 | CHG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Video Game Sales | $2,783m | $2,251m | -19% |
| Video Game Hardware | $1,206m | $891m | -26% |
| Video Game Software ** | $1,071m | $926m | -14% |
| Video Game Accessories & Game Cards | $505m | $433m | -14% |
| 2019 Year-to-Date Dollar Sales | 2018 YTD (Adjusted)* | 2019 YTD | CHG |
| Total Video Game Sales | $13,200m | $11,592m | -12% |
| Video Game Hardware | $3,882m | $2,946m | -24% |
| Video Game Software ** | $5,914m | $5,421m | -8% |
| Video Game Accessories & Game Cards | $3,404m | $3,225m | -5% |
* 2018 YTD adjusted to include same number of tracking weeks in year
$Software (All notes refer to dollar sales)
** Physical and Full Game Digital Formats from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam and Xbox platforms for DLP Participants
Software (All notes refer to dollar sales)
Dollar sales of tracked video game software declined 14 percent in November compared to a year ago, to $926 million, while year-to-date sales have fallen 8 percent to $5.4 billion. Gains in software spending on Nintendo Switch have not offset declines across other platforms.
Call of Duty : Modern Warfare repeats as the best-selling game of the month, and maintains its position as the best-selling game of 2019 year-to-date. Call of Duty : Modern Warfare also becomes the best-selling game of the trailing 12-month period ending November.
Star Wars Jedi : Fallen Order is the #2 best-selling game of November and instantly becomes the #9 best-selling game of 2019 year to date. Star Wars Jedi : Fallen Order achieved the second highest launch month dollar sales for any Star Wars game in U.S. history, trailing only 2015's Star Wars Battlefront. The game also achieved the highest launch month dollar sales for a Respawn Entertainment-developed title in U.S. history.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield rank as the #3 and #5 best-selling titles of November, respectively, while the Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack places as the #4 best-selling game of the month. These titles combine to achieve the highest launch month dollar sales of any Pokemon release in U.S. history, topping the previous launch month high set by Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon. Were all versions of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield combined, the aggregate total would place as the #2 best-selling in November.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is now the best-selling Fighting game in U.S. history, with a lifetime dollar sales total surpassing that of the previous best-selling Fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
November 2019 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales
| Title | Rank | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 | 1 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order^ | 2 | Electronic Arts |
| Pokemon Sword* | 3 | Nintendo |
| Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield Double Pack* | 4 | Nintendo |
| Pokemon Shield* | 5 | Nintendo |
| Madden NFL 20 | 6 | Electronic Arts |
| Death Stranding | 7 | Sony (Corp) |
| NBA 2K20 | 8 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Need for Speed: Heat | 9 | Electronic Arts |
| Luigi's Mansion 3* | 10 | Nintendo |
| FIFA 20 | 11 | Electronic Arts |
| Borderlands 3 | 12 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| The Outer Worlds | 13 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Just Dance 2020 | 14 | Ubisoft |
| Mario Kart 8* | 15 | Nintendo |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | 16 | Nintendo |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | 17 | Nintendo |
| Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint | 18 | Ubisoft |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 19 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Mortal Kombat 11 | 20 | Warner Bros. Interactive |
Hardware
Hardware spending in November 2019 declined 26 percent when compared to a year ago, to $891 million. Year-to-date hardware spending has fallen 24 percent versus year ago, to $2.9 billion.
Nintendo Switch was again the best-selling hardware platform of November and remains the best-selling platform of 2019.
Accessories & Game Cards
Total November 2019 spending on Accessories and Game Cards fell 14 percent when compared to a year ago, to $433 million. Year-to-date sales of Accessories and Game Cards are down 5 percent when compared to a year ago, to $3.2 billion.
The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 drove the highest dollar sales of any accessory in November. The PS4 DualShock 4 Wireless Controller Black remains the best-selling accessory year to date.