Switch tops NPD hardware charts for the second month in a row, but Madden NFL claims its usual August crown

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By Brenna Hillier

Switch remains dominant in the US market this month. Will it change its mind next time? Nobody knows with this cheeky brat, but we’re kind of guessing …. not.

August 2017 NPD at a glance

Total spend down 2% year-on-year.

Hardware, console software and PC software all fell year-on-year.

Accessories grew year-on-year.

Compare month-on-month: July 2017

Compare year-on-year: August 2016

Switch was the bestselling hardware in the US market for August 2017, according to the NPD’s monthly report.

It’s the second consecutive month Nintendo’s new hardware has taken the crown, and the fourth total since its launch in March.

PS4 came in second place, which is not unexpected; until Switch came along it fought off Xbox One for top spot nearly every month since the two systems launched, and even managed to overtake Switch as recently as May and June. It remains the bestselling platform for the year to date.

Despite these two stellar performers, hardware in total dipped year-on-year thanks to weaker year-on-year Xbox One sales compared to August 2016 – not to mention ever-diminishing PS3 and Xbox 360 sales.

The NPD expects this to change soon. Year-to-date hardware is up 17% to $1.7 billion,with help from things like the NES Classic. Moreover, the upcoming Xbox One X is expected to be a shot in the arm, as is the Super Mario Odyssey Switch hardware bundle.

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NPD Software charts, August 2017

Before we kick off the software charts proper, let’s all take a moment to honiour GTA 5, which is still one of the bestselling games of the month, every month.

“Grand Theft Auto 5 has now been on the market 49 months and has achieved 41 Top 10 chart appearances, 16 more times than any other single title in reported history,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said.

“In addition, Grand Theft Auto 5 is the all-time best-selling game by both revenue and units in tracked sales across PC, console, and portable with digital and packaged combined.”

Amazing. Anyway, Madden NFL 18 predictably topped the monthly software charts, although of course the NPD is missing so much digital info that we don’t know wherre PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds might have appeared on this list.

Here are the charts. Titles marked with an asterisk do not include digital sales data. Those with a double asterisk do not include digital sales data on PC.

NPD August 2017 all platforms top 20

  1. Madden NFL 18
  2. Grand Theft Auto 5
  3. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
  4. Splatoon 2*
  5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  6. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
  7. Mario Kart 8*
  8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
  9. Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
  10. Overwatch**
  11. Injustice 2
  12. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  13. Minecraft
  14. For Honor
  15. Call of Duty: Black Ops III
  16. Agents Of Mayhem
  17. Forza Horizon 3
  18. Battlefield 1
  19. NBA 2K17
  20. UFC 2

    NPD August 2017 Xbox One top ten

  1. Madden NFL 18
  2. Grand Theft Auto 5
  3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
  4. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
  5. Forza Horizon 3
  6. Overwatch
  7. Injustice 2
  8. Minecraft
  9. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  10. For Honor

    NPD August 2017 PS4 top ten

  1. Madden NFL 18
  2. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
  3. Grand Theft Auto 5
  4. Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
  5. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
  6. MLB 17: The Show
  7. Overwatch
  8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
  9. Injustice 2
  10. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands

    NPD August 2017 Switch top 10

  1. Splatoon 2*
  2. Mario Kart 8*
  3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  4. ARMS*
  5. 1-2 Switch*
  6. Ultra Street Fighter 2: The Final Challengers*
  7. Just Dance 2017*
  8. Lego City Undercover*
  9. Cars 3: Driven to Win*
  10. Minecraft: Story Mode The Complete Adventure*

    NPD August 2017 3DS top ten

  1. Miitopia*
  2. Hey! Pikmin*
  3. Pokemon: Sun*
  4. Super Smash Bros.*
  5. Super Mario Maker*
  6. Pokemon: Moon*
  7. Mario Kart 7*
  8. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia*
  9. Mario Sports Superstars*
  10. New Super Mario Bros. 2*

    NPD August 2017 best-selling games of 2017 so far, all platforms

  1. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  3. Grand Theft Auto 5
  4. For Honor
  5. Horizon Zero Dawn
  6. Injustice 2
  7. Mass Effect: Andromeda
  8. Madden NFL 18
  9. NBA 2K17
  10. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

    NPD August 2017 best-selling games of the last 12 months, all platforms

  1. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
  2. Battlefield 1
  3. NBA 2K17
  4. Grand Theft Auto 5
  5. Madden NFL 17
  6. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  7. FIFA 17
  8. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  9. Final Fantasy XV
  10. For Honor

madden_18

August 2017 NPD – general

Total industry spend was down 2% year-on-year to $568 million.

Despite the success of the Switch, hadrwaee also fell, dropping 6% year-on-year to $168 million. The Xbox One S had spiked things last year, though.
In software, console sales were down 2% to $271 million, which isn’t too bad given this year didn’t have a recent spate of big new releases like last year did. PC software was more drmataic at 23%, falling to $11 million.

Accessories grew 10% to $118 million, which is nice. The NPD didn’t say why, though.

As ever, bear in mind that the NPD only tracks new retail sales and some digital sales, and not the used market, rentals or non-traditional retailers. Additionally, it is missing Battle.net and Steam sales figures, among other revenue streams like subscriptions and DLC. As such, it’s not a very good indicator of the health of an industry that is increasingly moving to the digital sphere.

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