Recent Articles: NPD

Injustice: Gods Among Us is the best-selling game of April 2013

Posted on May 17, 2013 by John Scalzo

injustice-boxartAccording to The NPD Group’s accounting of the best-selling games from April 2013, NetherRealm Studios’ Injustice: Gods Among Us delivered a superhero-sized punch to the competition last month. The Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U fighter zoomed into the top spot, ahead of another April release, Deep Silver’s Dead Island: Riptide. Other new releases were mostly shut out of the top ten, but Defiance, an MMO shooter based on the Syfy show of the same name, managed to make it to the fifth spot.

Bioshock Infinite continues to sell strong, rounding out the top three, and a pair of 3DS-exclusive games scared up spots in the top ten: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (#6) and Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins (#9).

The full top ten list for April 2013 can be found right here:

1. Injustice: Gods Among Us (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
2. Dead Island: Riptide (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Bioshock Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
5. Defiance (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
6. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
7. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
8. Skylanders Giants (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, Wii U)
9. Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins (3DS)
10. MLB 13: The Show (PS3, Vita)

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BioShock Infinite is exceptional atop the March 2013 list of bestselling games

Posted on April 18, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Good news everyone! The NPD Group (via Game Informer) has released their report on the best-selling games of March 2013 and they’ve confirmed that total game sales saw a 2% increase over March 2012. That’s the first year-over-year increase since November 2011. So good job game-buying public!

BioShock Infinite was the top-selling game of the month, just ahead of Square Enix’s Tomb Raider reboot. New games dominated the list as eight of the top ten titles were released in March. Only Call of Duty: Black Ops II and NBA 2K13 managed to fight through the new release wave to earn a spot in the top ten.

Here’s the complete list of the top ten best-selling games in March 2013:

1. BioShock Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
2. Tomb Raider (Xbox 360, PS3)
3. Gears of War: Judgment (Xbox 360)
4. God of War: Ascension (PS3)
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
6. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
7. MLB 13: The Show (PS3, Vita)
8. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
9. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
10. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)

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Dead Space 3 slices up the competition in February 2013 NPD report

Posted on March 14, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Do you remember that rumor about Dead Space 3‘s poor sales? Yeah… apparently that was a load of space garbage. The action horror title was officially crowned the best-selling retail game of February 2013 by retail tracking firm The NPD Group.

New releases Crysis 3, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and the troubled launch of Aliens: Colonial Marines also landed spots in the top ten.

Here’s the complete list of the top ten best-selling games in February 2013:

1. Dead Space 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
3. Crysis 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
4. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
5. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3, Xbox 360)
6. Aliens: Colonial Marines 2013 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
7. Just Dance 4 (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
8. Far Cry 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
9. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3, Vita)
10. Madden NFL 13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Vita, Wii U)

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CoD: Black Ops II is the bestselling game of January 2013

Posted on February 14, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II is the bestselling game of the month for a third month in a row, according to the NPD Group’s January 2013 report of retail game sales.

Capcom’s Devil May Cry reboot, DMC: Devil May Cry, was the only new release to crack the top ten. The game, the first created by UK developer Ninja Theory, clawed its way to sixth place.

Here’s the complete top ten for the month:

Bestselling Retail Games in January 2013
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
2. Far Cry 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
3. Just Dance 4 (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
4. NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
5. Madden NFL 13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Vita, Wii U)
6. DMC: Devil May Cry (PS3, Xbox 360)
7. Halo 4 (Xbox 360)
8. Assassin’s Creed III (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
9. Skylander Giants (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, Wii U)
10. FIFA Soccer 13 (PS3, Xbox 360, Vita, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, PSP)

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the best-selling game in all of 2012 too

Posted on January 11, 2013 by John Scalzo

As the best-selling game of the month in November and December, Call of Duty: Black Ops II has consistently blown away the competition since its November 13th launch. But seven weeks was all it needed to stand tall as the best-selling game of all of 2012.

The complete list doesn’t include many surprises. Like the list of bestsellers from December 2012, no original games are included in the full-year list. Microsoft’s Halo 4 was the only platform-exclusive title to make the list and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the only 2011 release able to retain its spot in the top ten.

In terms of retail sales, 2012 was a down year for the game industry. Retail sales of games, accessories, and consoles (not counting used games/hardware or downloadable games/content) totaled $13.26 billion, which was off 20% from 2011′s $16.99 billion total. perhaps this Fall’s expected launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 will kickstart the industry in 2013.

The complete 2012 top ten can be found after the break. (more…)

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CoD Black Ops II was the best-selling game of December 2012

Posted on January 10, 2013 by John Scalzo

For the second straight month, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II stands tall as the best-selling game of the month, per The NPD Group’s December 2012 report.

The first person shooter fended off a bevy of sequels including the rest of the top five: Just Dance 4, Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, and Madden NFL 13. In fact, not a single non-sequel cracked the top ten last month.

Once again, The NPD Group is reporting (via Game Informer) that game sales and console sales are down relative to 2011 (which was itself down from 2010). Of course, the NPD Group’s inability to track sales of downloadable games makes this statistic less than helpful.

The full top ten from last month can be found after the break. (more…)

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II nukes the competition in November 2012 NPD report

Posted on December 6, 2012 by John Scalzo

Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Halo 4 set records in November 2012. The Wii U also opened strong with sales of over 400,000 consoles. And the Christmas rush resulted in big numbers for new releases like Assassin’s Creed III, Just Dance 4, and Need For Speed: Most Wanted. But that still didn’t stop The NPD Group from reporting that retail game sales dropped 11% from November 2011.

“Despite an overall retail video game decline of 11 percent, November had the smallest year-over-year decrease we have seen for dollar and unit sales so far this year. This is a sign of momentum going into the December holiday period,” said NPD analyst Liam Callahan.

You can view the complete top ten from last month after the break, and remember, despite what The NPD Group says, the console game market is still in good shape. (more…)

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NBA 2K13 slams it home as the bestselling game of October 2012

Posted on November 9, 2012 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has released their report on the bestselling games of October 2012 and NBA 2K13 has come out on top. The basketball sim’s lack of competition from the now-canceled NBA Live 13 surely pushed it to greater heights and enabled it to hold off other October releases like Resident Evil 6 (#2), Pokemon Black 2 (#3), Dishonored (#4), and Pokemon White 2 (#5).

New releases performed very well in October as Medal of Honor: Warfighter (#8) and Skylanders Giants (#10) also cracked the top ten even though game sales dropped 25% from October 2011. Of course, things like that happen when you’re competing with the one-two punch of Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City.

The full top ten for October 2012 can be found after the break. (more…)

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