NPD released its May retail sales analysis, and everything’s looking good, with Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all having something to cheer about.
Overall, hardware, software, accessories, and game cards sales grew to $685 million – a 13 percent increase from a year ago (software was down slightly but the other areas made up for it), and year-to-date spending is up 15 percent. “Growth has occurred across all categories of spending,” says NPD video game analyst Mat Piscatella.
State of Decay 2 – which has already almost doubled sales of the first title – is a big win for Microsoft, and the NPD notes that the Xbox One along with the PS4, drove a 26 percent increase in hardware spending compared to a year ago.
Sony, with God of War and Detroit: Become Human, is May’s top-selling software publisher, although Ubisoft holds that spot for the calendar year. The PS4 was the month’s best-selling console and has carried the year so far.
As for Nintendo, not only do its titles pepper the top 20, but its software sales in May 2018* are the highest for the month in seven years.
The PS4, Xbox One, and Switch all garnered record sales highs for a May month.
May NPD 2018 Top 20 Ranked On Dollar Sales
1. State of Decay 2
2. God of War
3. Detroit: Become Human
4. Far Cry 5
5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze*
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition*
8. 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
*Nintendo titles do not include digital sales
Source: Game Informer State Of Decay 2 Leads NPD Software In May