December 2013 & 2013 NPD: Xbox One Beats PS4 in December, Grand Theft Auto V is the #1 Selling Game of 2013

January 16, 2014

After breaking all sorts of records when it released, the NPD has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto V was the #1 selling game at retail in the US during 2013. This means Call of Duty’s streak of four straight years at the top comes to an end, with Wii Play being the last non-Call of Duty #1. For the rest of the top five you have Call of Duty: Ghosts at #2, followed by Madden NFL 25, Battlefield 4, and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

Overall in 2013, the entire industry was down 2% compared to last year, ending up at $12.97 billion. For a breakdown, hardware was up 5% to $4.26 billion, software down 9% to $6.12 billion, and accessories (which includes Skylanders/Disney Infinity add-ons and pre-paid money cards) was up 3% to $2.6 billion.

Specifically for December, the industry was up 2% compared to last year with $3.28 billion. Thanks to the PS4 and Xbox One, hardware was up 28% to $1.37 billion, and accessories were up 4% to $631 million, but software was down 17% to $1.28 billion.

While the PS4 may have ruled November in the US and 2013 worldwide, Xbox has confirmed that the Xbox One was the #1 selling new-gen console in the US during December 2013, moving 908,000 units. As well, the Xbox 360 was the #1 selling last-gen console at 643,000 (Sony rarely, if ever, gives out US system sales figures in the US).

Here’s the top 10 selling games in December 2013, which totals sales across all systems and includes Collectors Editions, GOTY Editions, and bundles, but not those bundled with hardware:

Call of Duty: Ghosts
Battlefield 4
Just Dance 2014
Madden NFL 25
NBA 2K14
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Grand Theft Auto V
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
FIFA 14
Skylanders SWAP Force

And here’s the top 10 selling games in 2013, which also totals sales across all systems and includes Collectors Editions, GOTY Editions, and bundles, but not those bundled with hardware: