NPD May 2018 Results

Two consecutive best months for PS4 in its 5th year with no promos or price cut in a while.

Good month for XB1 again, thanks to more promos and XB1X.

Also:
On the software side the best sellers were: God of War, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Detroit: Become Human and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
Click to expand...

All exclusives.
 
djskribbles said:
Two consecutive best months for PS4 in its 5th year with no promos or price cut in a while.

Good month for XB1 again, thanks to more promos and XB1X.

Also:


All exclusives.
Click to expand...

Best PS4 and Xbox One month of May

XBO:
2014 - 77k
2015 - 140k (Halo: MCC Bundle)
2016 - 107k (50$ Gift cards and Free Game GS Deal)
2017 - 109k ($299 Deal at several/every retailer)
2018 - 145k (Several Deals, State of Decay 2)

PS4:
2014 - 197k (Watch Dogs Bundle)
2015 - 153k (Trade-in Deal)
2016 - 207k (Trade-in Deal, Uncharted 4 + Bundle)
2017 - 187k
2018 - 223k (Detroit, God of Legs
663425.gif
)

NSW:

2017 - 165k (supply constrained)
2018 - 167k (Hyrule Warriors, DK legs)
 
Shortbread said:
Hum, is Switch sales starting to flatline? 1% above the previous May, seems poor for a relatively new system.
Click to expand...

Software is a big issue atm. Switch was massively front-loaded with 1st party titles and many of them were in development for the WiiU so its going to take a while for the next 1st party batch. This has been my no.1 head scratcher regarding Nintendo for the last 5 consoles, with having hardware that is so out of line with the PC/PS/Xbox that they have these gigantic gaps in major releases because Nintendo has always been, "Our way or the highway" with 3rd parties. Other than the outlier Wii, I wondered if the switch would hit that consistent ~30-40 million sell through since the N64 and its looking more likely, along with the, "You only buy Nintendo systems to play Nintendo games" stigma. It seems thats the cap on people who want to play Nintendo 1st party.

I'm not implying this is bad or good, its just the way they do things and so far it seems to work for them. Counter to what I thought for the last 2 decades, Nintendo clearly doesn't seem to care about that NES/SNES 3rd party dominance they once had.
 
You would think that’s a platform owner that has a thing about its first party titles dominating its platform, would make it a habit to keep the first party titles flowing.
 
Hard to believe PS4 and Xbox puny numbers each amount to their best May of the gen (albeit they only had 4 prior).

Xbox had hefty promos over E3 (500 GB no game S for 199, first ever price cut on X to 449). Wonder if they can win June.

If they can beat PS4 it should be an outright win looking at Switch the last few months. But who knows. Xbox has not outright won a month in a while (it placed 2nd ahead of PS4 one of the holiday months, but Switch "won").

Xbox would have to work really hard to not be up big YoY until November. It's 2017 months were pathetic, not much over 100k in many months. But then it did healthy >1300k each of Nov/Dec 2017 to not have a total lost year.
 
Last edited:
Thanks to the NPD Group for the breakdown-

Here are the numbers for May 2018:
  • Total: $685 million (up 13% from $607 million in May 2017)
  • Hardware: $186 million (up 26% from $147 million)
  • PC and console software: $274 million (down 4% from $285 million)
  • Accessories: $225 million (up 30% from $174 million)
May 2018 spending across video game Hardware, Software, Accessories and Game Cards grew 13 percent when compared to a year ago, to $685 million. Growth in Hardware and Accessories & Game Cards offset a slight decline in Software.

Year-to-date spending across video game Hardware, Software, Accessories and Game Cards is up 15 percent when compared to the same period a year ago, to $4.9 billion. Growth has occurred across all categories of spending.

SOFTWARE

Best Sellers drive growth: Year to date, software spending is up 7 percent versus year ago, to $2.2 billion. Far Cry 5, God of War, and Monster Hunter: World are the year's best-selling titles.

State of Decay 2 tops the chart: State of Decay 2 was May's best-selling game, as launch month sales nearly doubled that of the previous entry in the franchise, State of Decay.

God of War holds strong: God of War was May's second best-selling title, and now ranks in the same position in year to date sales, trailing only Ubisoft's Far Cry 5.

Detroit opens higher than Heavy Rain: Detroit: Become Human was the third best-selling game of the month. Launch month sales of Detroit: Become Human represent a record high for developer Quantic Dream, with sales growth of over 20 percent when compared to its previous launch month best-seller, Heavy Rain.

Switch Software sees strong growth: Nintendo Switch software sales in May generated growth of 90 percent when compared to a year ago, delivering the highest software revenues for any Nintendo platform in May since the Nintendo Wii in May 2011. Please note that The NPD Group does not currently track digital sales on Nintendo platforms.

Sony was the months top publisher: Sony was May's top-selling software publisher, driven by God of War and Detroit: Become Human. Ubisoft remains the top revenue generating publisher year to date, while Activision Blizzard holds the lead revenue position over the 12 month period ending May.

HARDWARE & ACCESSORIES

Hardware spending up for the year: For the 2018 year-to-date period, hardware spending has increased 15 percent to $1.3 billion. Spending gains for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Plug N Play devices such as the SNES Classic have driven growth.

Best May since 2011: Hardware unit sales in May 2018 reached the highest total for a May since May 2011, while May 2018 dollar sales reached the highest May total since May 2014.

Big 3 break records: Sony's PlayStation 4, Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo Switch all achieved all-time unit sales highs for a May month. Previous highs were May 2016 for PlayStation 4, May 2015 for Xbox One, and May 2017 for Switch.

PS4 is the months best seller: Sony's PlayStation 4 was the best-selling console hardware platform in May, and remains the best-selling console hardware platform year to date.

Switch has a top selling SKU: The Nintendo Switch 32GB w/Neon Red/Blue JoyCon was the month's best-selling hardware SKU in both unit and dollar sales.

Accessories Roundup: Sales of Headsets/Headphones more than doubled in May 2018 when compared to a year ago. Year to date, Headsets/Headphones spending has increased 83 percent. The Xbox One Ear Force Recon 50x Gaming Headset from Turtle Beach was the best-selling Headset/Headphone in May, while the company's Xbox One Ear Force Stealth 600 Wireless Headset is the best-selling Headset/Headphone for 2018 year to date.

Gamepad spending grew 16 percent in May versus a year ago, with year to date spending growth of 22 percent. The PS4 DualShock 4 Wireless Controller Black is the best-selling Gamepad in both May and 2018 year to date.

RANKINGS
Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel, ranked on dollar sales
  1. State of Decay 2
  2. God of War 2018
  3. Detroit: Become Human
  4. Far Cry 5
  5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze*
  6. Grand Theft Auto V
  7. Hyrule Warriors Definitive Ed*
  8. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
  9. Mario Kart 8*
  10. NBA 2K18
  11. MLB 18: The Show
  12. Call of Duty: WWII
  13. Super Mario Odyssey*
  14. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  15. FIFA 18^
  16. Overwatch^
  17. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
  18. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
  19. Assassin's Creed: Origins
  20. Monster Hunter: World
* Digital sales not included
^ PC digital sales not included

Xbox One
  1. State of Decay 2
  2. Far Cry 5
  3. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
  4. Grand Theft Auto V
  5. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
  6. Call of Duty: WWII
  7. Overwatch
  8. Sea Of Thieves
  9. NBA 2K18
  10. FIFA 18

PS4
  1. God of War 2018
  2. Detroit: Become Human
  3. Far Cry 5
  4. MLB 18: The Show
  5. Grand Theft Auto V
  6. FIFA 18
  7. NBA 2K18
  8. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
  9. Call of Duty: WWII
  10. Overwatch

Switch
  1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
  2. Hyrule Warriors Definitive Ed
  3. Mario Kart 8
  4. Super Mario Odyssey
  5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  6. Splatoon 2
  7. Kirby Star Allies
  8. Labo Toy-Con 01 Variety Kit
  9. Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
  10. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Year to Date
  1. Far Cry 5
  2. God of War 2018
  3. Monster Hunter: World
  4. Call of Duty: WWII
  5. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
  6. Grand Theft Auto V
  7. NBA 2K18
  8. MLB 18: The Show
  9. Mario Kart 8*
  10. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
Click to expand...

From resetera Stae of Decay 2 best sales of May 2018 in US
 
Wow, State of Decay 2? I can't even bring myself to DL it as part of Game Pass. I guess being on two platforms is what pushes it to the top.
 
DrJay24 said:
Wow, State of Decay 2? I can't even bring myself to DL it as part of Game Pass. I guess being on two platforms is what pushes it to the top.
Click to expand...
Go one step further and consider how well this would have sold if it was also on playstation. ;)
 
DrJay24 said:
Or 360/PS3 so the graphics and frame rate match the console ;).
Click to expand...
honestly lol. not an absolutely terrible idea.
But I think unfortunately, it didn't have the chops to go that low. Map size or something like that. Considering the game isn't charged as a full AAA title, and is on game pass, and NPD ranks by revenue, I guess MS was right about launching on game pass with exclusives doesn't negatively impact their sales.
 
Rangers said:
Hard to believe PS4 and Xbox puny numbers each amount to their best May of the gen (albeit they only had 4 prior).
Click to expand...

It wasn't that long ago when May spelled the beginning of the tumbleweed summer lull for games releases. I think that first significantly changed with the delayed WATCH_DOGS in 2014 then The Witcher 3 in 2015 so there isn't a huge amount of history here. Then February become the new May then publishes jumped on February as well. August feels like the only annual lull now because who wants to spent money on videogames when you can spend it on ice-cream? :yes:
 
Shortbread said:
Hum, is Switch sales starting to flatline? 1% above the previous May, seems poor for a relatively new system.
Click to expand...

Flat year over year probably isn't terrible in this circumstance. Switch was a very hot item last year this time with restock typically selling out very quickly at most retailers in the US. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also came out in May last year. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is a great game, but doesn't have the system selling prowess of a game like Mario Kart. Interesting that sales performance in NA nearly mirrors the numbers in Japan where it averages about 45k per week. Holding this performance in the slower months is a good sign that the platform has healthy momentum. Fast forward to November and December when Lets Go Pokemon and Smash Bros Ultimate release, and we will see another big surge in Switch sales. Nintendo's estimate of 20 million Switch units sold in the fiscal year is pretty optimistic, but with Smash and a pair of Pokemon games releasing, its very much a possibility. Will be interesting to see if Switch can surpass Xbox One sales within 36 months on sale. Looking probable in my opinion.
 
https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/21/may-npd-2018-state-of-decays-second-act-chews-its-way-to-the-top/
  1. State of Decay 2
  2. God of War 2018
  3. Detroit: Become Human
  4. Far Cry 5
  5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze*
  6. Grand Theft Auto V
  7. Hyrule Warriors Definitive Ed*
  8. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
  9. Mario Kart 8*
  10. NBA 2K18
  11. MLB 18: The Show
  12. Call of Duty: WWII
  13. Super Mario Odyssey*
  14. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  15. FIFA 18**
  16. Overwatch**
  17. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
  18. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
  19. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
  20. Monster Hunter: World
Unexpected considering how much Streamers trashed the game due to the unplayable multiplayer on the game, but State of Decay 2 managed to take top honors for May. I honestly did not expect it to sell better than Detroit: Become Human. Bother are rather niche titles.

Though software sales were down year-over-year last month, Undead Labs’ zombie survival game State of Decay 2 did well for itself. It was May’s best-seller, and it sold almost twice as many copies as its prequel, State of Decay.
Click to expand...

So far every single MS title that they have launched day and date on Game Pass has sold far beyond Microsoft's internal projections. I think it's safe to say that Game Pass doesn't hurt sales and in fact might help to boost sales.

Nintendo Switch may not have moved a lot of consoles YoY, however...

“Nintendo Switch software sales in May generated growth of 90 percent when compared to a year ago, delivering the highest software revenues for any Nintendo platform in May since the Nintendo Wii in May 2011,” said Piscatella.
Click to expand...

Software sales certainly aren't slowing down on the platform. Not too surprising considering 5 of the top 20 are Nintendo exclusive. Then again, there is a ton more software available on the platform now compared to a year ago, so that isn't completely unexpected.

Best Selling games of 2018
  1. Far Cry 5
  2. God of War 2018
  3. Monster Hunter: World
  4. Call of Duty: WWII
  5. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
  6. Grand Theft Auto V
  7. NBA 2K18
  8. MLB 18: The Show
  9. Mario Kart 8*
  10. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds**
Best Selling games of the past 12 months.
  1. Call of Duty: WWII
  2. NBA 2K18
  3. Destiny 2**
  4. Madden NFL 18
  5. Super Mario Odyssey*
  6. Star Wars: Battlefront II**
  7. Far Cry 5
  8. Grand Theft Auto V
  9. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
  10. FIFA 18*
I'm surprised God of War (2018) still hasn't made the top 10 of the past 12 months. I guess that just shows how large the gap is between it and Far Cry 5.

And to throw gasoline on the fire. The Top 10 games in sales of the past 12 months in the US is dominated by 60 FPS games. ;)

Regards,
SB
 
Silent_Buddha said:
I'm surprised God of War (2018) still hasn't made the top 10 of the past 12 months. I guess that just shows how large the gap is between it and Far Cry 5.

And to throw gasoline on the fire. The Top 10 games in sales of the past 12 months in the US is dominated by 60 FPS games. ;)

Regards,
SB
Click to expand...

Am I missing something here? Are we comparing a exclusive title on a single platform (PS4) versus a multiplatform title that's inclusive of PC sales as well? The "Best Selling games of the past 12 months" category is the accumulated unit sales between those months (The reason why Grand Theft Auto V will probably be around the top 10 for another year or more). I would expect that most top-tier triple-A multiplatform title(s) would hold the top positions during a 12 month span, for quite some time, when compared to a single platform title such as God of War (released April 20th, 2018). And I'm pretty sure Sony is quite pleased with the 5.5-6 million copies God of War has sold, which still maintains the top spot for the last two months on the PS4 software sales charts.

PS4
  1. God of War 2018
  2. Detroit: Become Human
  3. Far Cry 5
  4. MLB 18: The Show
  5. Grand Theft Auto V
  6. FIFA 18
  7. NBA 2K18
  8. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
  9. Call of Duty: WWII
  10. Overwatch
 
Shortbread said:
Am I missing something here? Are we comparing a exclusive title on a single platform (PS4) versus a multiplatform title that's inclusive of PC sales as well? The "Best Selling games of the past 12 months" category is the accumulated unit sales between those months (The reason why Grand Theft Auto V will probably be around the top 10 for another year or more). I would expect that most top-tier triple-A multiplatform title(s) would hold the top positions during a 12 month span, for quite some time, when compared to a single platform title such as God of War (released April 20th, 2018). And I'm pretty sure Sony is quite pleased with the 5.5-6 million copies God of War has sold, which still maintains the top spot for the last two months on the PS4 software sales charts.

PS4
  1. God of War 2018
  2. Detroit: Become Human
  3. Far Cry 5
  4. MLB 18: The Show
  5. Grand Theft Auto V
  6. FIFA 18
  7. NBA 2K18
  8. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
  9. Call of Duty: WWII
  10. Overwatch
Click to expand...
I'm just as confused as you whenever people are surprised that exclusives struggle to compete with the absolute best selling AAA multiplatform titles in terms of sales. Some even going as far to say that exclusives don't matter much because of this single useless data point.

Plus, as you correctly pointed out, GoW has only been out for (as of the time of the report) a little over a month; whereas most of those titles have been out for ~6x as long (some much longer). Even Far Cry 5 was released almost a month before GoW.
 
Shortbread said:
Am I missing something here? Are we comparing a exclusive title on a single platform (PS4) versus a multiplatform title that's inclusive of PC sales as well? The "Best Selling games of the past 12 months" category is the accumulated unit sales between those months (The reason why Grand Theft Auto V will probably be around the top 10 for another year or more). I would expect that most top-tier triple-A multiplatform title(s) would hold the top positions during a 12 month span, for quite some time, when compared to a single platform title such as God of War (released April 20th, 2018). And I'm pretty sure Sony is quite pleased with the 5.5-6 million copies God of War has sold, which still maintains the top spot for the last two months on the PS4 software sales charts.

PS4
  1. God of War 2018
  2. Detroit: Become Human
  3. Far Cry 5
  4. MLB 18: The Show
  5. Grand Theft Auto V
  6. FIFA 18
  7. NBA 2K18
  8. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
  9. Call of Duty: WWII
  10. Overwatch
Click to expand...

Just so you know there is an exclusive title on the top 10 of the past 12 months list. :) I've also mentioned in the past that I expect GOW (2018) to eventually make the list. I was thinking it might make the list this month, but it hasn't.

Sony exclusives just aren't as popular as Nintendo exclusives. They tend to get onto the list pretty quickly after they come out. There was a point where Nintendo had 3 exclusives in the top 10 of the past 12 months list.

The comment wasn't a dish against GOW (2018) but pointing out that there is a large gap between the #1 spot and the #2 spot in sales for the past 12 months. If it was something else in the #2 spot on the top 10 of 2018, I'd have made the same comment except with that title as an example. Or if GOW (2018) and FC5 were reversed I'd have made the same comments, except in reverse.

It's unfortunate that GOW (2018) was in that spot and it suddenly turned into some kind of weird exclusive thing by people reading what I posted. Perhaps it would have been better if GOW (2018) had been 3rd for the 2018 list so that it didn't have to come up.

Regards,
SB
 
Last edited:
Silent_Buddha said:
Just so you know there is an exclusive title on the top 10 of the past 12 months list. :) I've also mentioned in the past that I expect GOW (2018) to eventually make the list. I was thinking it might make the list this month, but it hasn't.

Sony exclusives just aren't as popular as Nintendo exclusives. They tend to get onto the list pretty quickly after they come out.

The comment wasn't a dish against GOW (2018) but pointing out that there is a large gap between the #1 spot and the #2 spot in sales for the past 12 months. If it was something else in the #2 spot on the top 10 of 2018, I'd have made the same comment except with that title as an example.

Regards,
SB
Click to expand...
People buy Nintendo systems specifically for their exclusives. That's why their biggest IPs are some of the best selling games (not just exclusives) period. Plus their games are generally more accessible and appeal to a broader audience. People buy PS for their strong first AND second party support.

But you didn't factor in one major thing: Mario Odyssey was released nearly 6 months prior to GoW. It also went through a holiday period.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Shortbread
NPD December 2018
2
Replies
20
Views
3K
Silent_Buddha
S
C
NPD October 2018 Results
2
Replies
20
Views
4K
Silent_Buddha
S
S
NPD October 2019 Results
Replies
4
Views
2K
Silent_Buddha
S
S
NPD September 2019
Replies
3
Views
1K
Silent_Buddha
S
Shortbread
NPD August 2018
Replies
7
Views
2K
DrJay24
D
Back
Top