Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Battlefield 1 lead 2016 US game sales - NPD

The NPD Group and the Entertainment Software Association both released reports on last year's sales in the US games business today. While overall game software grew six percent from $23.2 billion to $24.5 billion, the total consumer spend, including revenues from all hardware, software, peripherals, and in-game purchases, came in at $30.4 billion, only slightly better than last year's $30.2 billion.

"Growth in entertainment software consumer spend was seen across the mobile, PC, virtual reality, subscription, portable and digital console segments," said Mat Piscatella, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "Consumers have more options to purchase and enjoy entertainment software than ever before, while developers have more and easier ways of delivering that content. No matter the delivery platform, entertainment software has never been more engaging, diverse or accessible."

While there was softness in the AAA games market, a big factor in 2016's somewhat flat growth came from the hardware side, as consoles did not generate big spending. "2016 was a tough year for hardware spending," acknowledged NPD analyst Sam Naji. "The category was down 24 percent as unit sales and the average retail price for consoles declined compared to 2015. On a positive note, Nintendo did shift an additional 4 percent of 3DS systems thanks in large part to the heightened demand for Pokemon."

He added, "Total hardware spending for 2016 reached $3.7B, a decline of 24 percent versus 2015. Unfortunately the release of the Xbox One S and the PlayStation 4 Pro did not generate dollar spending growth. Although the combined ARP for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 systems decreased by 15 percent, consumers bought 7 percent fewer units."

The hardware trend continued throughout December too, as total sales slipped 20% to $994.9 million. "The PlayStation 4 was the top-selling hardware system in the month and the PlayStation 4 Slim System 500GB Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Bundle was the month's top seller," noted Naji, adding, "Year-on-year there was a 10 percent increase in the number of Xbox One systems sold during December 2016."

On the software side, total sales of console and portable titles (including digital formats) slipped 12% in December to $1.19 billion, while total PC game sales (including digital) dropped 13% to $45.8 million. The big winners in software were Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Final Fantasy XV and Battlefield 1.

"Although a Call of Duty has now topped the December sales chart for the ninth consecutive year, Final Fantasy XV was the best selling game for the PS4 during the month," said Naji. "Final Fantasy XV was the second best-selling title for December 2016... Final Fantasy XV experienced the best console launch month in the history of the franchise (since tracking began in 1995) selling 19 percent more new physical units than Final Fantasy XIII in its launch month and 54 percent more in total dollar revenue including digital full game sales."

As for EA's World War I-themed shooter, Battlefield 1 actually enjoyed 10% higher dollar spending than last year's Star Wars Battlefront. And of course, in the portable realm, Pokemon: Sun and Moon reigned supreme, as the combined sales were the best for the franchise since Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in 2007.

Accessories felt the pinch in 2016 as well, dropping six percent, and 21% (excluding game cards) in December. Naji pointed out that this was "driven by a 50 percent decline in Interactive Gaming Toys." He continued, "The Interactive Gaming Toys segment consumer spend sold half the volume the segment achieved a year ago. The only brand to achieve year-on-year growth was LEGO Dimensions, originally launched in September 2015."