NPD: sales for September 2015 (United States)

General

In September, the video game market as a whole was slightly down Year on Year (-9%) in the United States, with new games and consoles generating $1.01 million (compared to $1.10 million in 2014). Just like last month, both Software and Hardware sales are down, and only those of accessories (a category that includes the Toys to Life segment, such as Skylanders, Disney Infinity, LEGO Dimensions and amiibo) are up.

• Software: $465.6 million (-3% compared to $480.6 million in September 2014), due to strong sales for Destiny last year;
• Hardware: $313.5 million (-27% compared to 431.2 million in September 2014).

Software

A few week ago, Nintendo announced that Super Mario Maker had already sold over 1 million units worldwide, which is a pretty good start. And today, the company revealed that the game sold over 445 000 units (retail + digital) in September in the United States, and over 500 000 units since launch (up to October 19th).

Super Mario Maker is the only exclusive game in the Top 10, which is quite remarkable in a market largely dominated by strong multiplatform titles. Unfortunately, Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer didn’t make it to the Top 10, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t do well… quite the opposite! According to Nintendo, it sold 115 000 units (retail + digital) during the first week: it’s no mainline entry, but it’s definitely a great result for a spin-off.

Finally, here’s some sales data from the usual insiders:

• Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX: ~24 000
• Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson: ~10 000

Top 10 – September

01) NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
02) Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
03) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360)
04) FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
05) Destiny: The Taken King (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
06) Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
07) Disney Infinity 3.0 (360, Wii U, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
08) Mad Max (PS4, Xbox One)
09) NHL 16 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
10) Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)

Hardware

According to the NPD, most platforms increased their sales compared to August (even though sales are down Year on Year in September). Nintendo confirms this via a press release: sales for the Wii U are up by 110%, and it looks like Super Mario Maker was the main driving force behind this increase.

As for the Nintendo 3DS, the impact of the New Nintendo 3DS launch in February is waning month after month. This month, the total increase of sales for the year (up to October 3rd) is 25% (vs 30% in August, and 35% in July). In other words: the Nintendo 3DS isn’t doing too well at the moment, and if not for New Nintendo 3DS in February, sales would be down Year on Year. Will the last two months of the year stop the trend?

• PlayStation 4
• Xbox One
• Nintendo 3DS: ~129 000
• Wii U: ~89 000

Source: NPD
Via: VentureBeat