The decade spanning 2010 to 2019 was a big one for games. A new generation of consoles partway through offered somewhat of a paradigm shift. This appears to be reflected in game sales, especially compared to the decade ending in 2009. When looking at the United States’ top 10 best-sellers of the last several years, an unmistakable pattern takes shape. Most notably, Rockstar-developed titles and Call of Duty games dominated year in and year out.
The NPD revealed the 10 titles that make up the US’ best-selling game releases between 2010 and 2019. Seven of those releases belong to Activision’s Call of Duty franchise. Two of the entries are Rockstar Games adventures. Minecraft serves as the list’s final entry. Check out the full list below:
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III
- Call of Duty: Ghosts
- Red Dead Redemption II
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII
- Minecraft
According to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, Call of Duty’s presence in the top 10 only scratches the surface of its success. For the top 15 best-selling titles of the last decade, the first-person shooter accounts for a total of 10 spaces. Calling it a phenomenon seems a gross understatement.
This is in stark contrast to game sales between 2000 and 2009. The NPD shared data on the best-selling games for that decade, too. Of course, Guitar Hero was king, though Call of Duty does account for at least three of the top-sellers. 2000-2009’s top-selling titles were as follows:
- Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock
- Fit
- Rock Band
- Wii Play w/ Remote
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Mario Kart Wii
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Call of Duty: World at War
Another interesting, and unsurprising, bit of data for the 2010 to 2019 decade as a whole is that PS4 counts as the best-selling hardware. The black DualShock 4 dominates as the top-selling accessory during the same time period.
[Source: Mat Piscatella on Twitter, GameDaily.biz]
