In their January 2016 report for the US games market at retail, the NPD revealed that total industry sales were down 4% year-on-year to $605.2 million. This includes a 10% drop in software to $212.7 million, a 15% drop in hardware to $157 million, and a 14% raise in accessories to $235.5 million.
According to the NPD, hardware dollar sales were down due to lower price points on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (unit sales remained roughly the same), with PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii sales falling 81%, and PlayStation Vita and 3DS sales dropping by 21%. Accessories, meanwhile, were up thanks to a record month for Point cards, and software fell because of a weak new release month that saw LEGO Marvel’s Avengers debut in 9th.
Here’s the top 10 selling games for January 2016, which totals retail sales across all systems and includes Collector’s Editions, GOTY Editions, and bundles, but not those bundled with hardware (sales by platform are ranked in brackets from highest-selling to least-selling):
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
- Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
- NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
- Star Wars Battlefront (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
- Fallout 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
- Minecraft (360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
- Rainbow Six Siege (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
- Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
- LEGO Marvel’s Avengers (PS4, Xbox One, 360, Wii U, PS3, 3DS, Vita)
- FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
The NPD adds that Dying Light, which set a record last January, had 239% more unit sales than LEGO Marvel’s Avengers.
As for Grand Theft Auto V, Callahan said, “This is the third consecutive January where Grand Theft Auto V was a Top 5 title. Astonishingly, the game has moved up in ranking placement from fifth place in January 2014, to third in January 2015 and to the second-best selling game in January 2016.”
[Source: Games Industry, Games Beat]
