Battlefield 1, Mafia 3 and Gears 4 drive US October game sales
NPD report reveals a 31% rise in console software sales while PC software jumps 172%
It was a big month for the AAA games business in October, as The NPD Group's latest monthly report shows new releases like Battlefield 1, Gears of War 4 and Mafia 3 pushing console software sales (digital plus physical) up 31% to $505.7 million while PC game sales were boosted 172% to $33.8 million. While hardware sales dipped 20% to $215.2 million, and accessories fell 24% to $121 million, the performance of software enabled overall industry sales to climb 6% to $875.7 million.
Microsoft already pointed out that its Xbox One was the best-selling console for October, outselling the PS4 for the fourth consecutive month, but the platform holder must have been ignoring bundles. NPD analyst Sam Naji revealed, "The PS4 Slim 500 GB Uncharted 4: A Thief's End bundle was the month's best-selling hardware across the category, accounting for 17 percent of total hardware units sold in the month."
He added, "Unit sales for the Xbox One brand of hardware grew by 8 percent compared to last October. Average pricing for the Xbox One hardware fell by 17 percent due primarily to the release of the lower-priced 500GB Xbox One S Minecraft Bundle."
It's also interesting to note that 3DS is still going strong, even with everyone's attention turning to the Switch. "The 3DS experienced its fifth straight month of year-on-year growth. Both unit sales and consumer spending for October grew 12 percent as average pricing was flat year on year. It is likely that continued consumer interest in the Pokémon franchise and Monster Hunter: Generations has driven this growth," Naji observed.
The top ten best-selling games chart is below:
