August 2020 US NPD numbers are in, showing that last month was a big one for the gaming industry as a whole. For one, Madden NFL 21 topped the NPD as the best-selling title of the month. EA’s sports sim accomplished this feat during a period where spending on video game-related content, hardware, and accessories totaled a whopping $3.3B. This counts as a 37 percent year-on-year increase compared to August 2019.
NPD analyst Mat Piscatella shared the news in a Twitter thread this morning, which begins with the following post:
August 2020 US NPD THREAD – Consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories totaled $3.3B in Aug 2020, a 37% increase when compared to a year ago. Digital content on console, mobile and subscription were among largest growth segments. https://t.co/J1VyUT3txt
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) September 14, 2020
For the 21st consecutive year, Madden NFL debuted on the NPD at number one in its launch month. And despite the many issues plaguing the title, Madden NFL 21 managed to outperform last year’s entry by quite a considerable margin. In addition, Piscatella notes, Madden NFL 21 debuted as 2020’s sixth best-selling game and is the top-selling sports series in US history. See Piscatella’s breakdown of the sports sim’s performance in the tweet below:
US NPD SW – Madden NFL 21 was the best-selling title of August, with double-digit percentage dollar sales growth when compared to the release month of Madden NFL 20. Madden NFL 21 debuts as the #6 best-selling game year-to-date. pic.twitter.com/YAIuXzKrye
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) September 14, 2020
EA drove home another win with UFC 4, which counts as the second best-selling title for the month of August. Still, Nintendo was last month’s big winner. Five of the top 10 titles in terms of dollar sales were Nintendo exclusives. (It’s worth noting that many of the figures for Nintendo don’t include digital sales numbers.)
The 10 top-selling games in the US for the month of August 2020 are as follows, according to the NPD:
- Madden NFL 21
- UFC 4
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Paper Mario: The Origami King
- Mortal Kombat 11
As you can see, Ghost of Tsushima found its way on the list at number four. The Last of Us Part II sits in the top 20, having landed in the ranking as the 12th best-selling game of the month.
[Source: Mat Piscatella on Twitter]
