General Gaming May 2018 NPD: Microsoft and Sony round out top 3 games (State of Decay 2, God of War, Detroit: Become Human), PS4 number 1, Sony top publisher

[SaysWho?]

https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/21/may-npd-2018-state-of-decays-second-act-chews-its-way-to-the-top/

 

Total: $685 million (up 13% from $607 million in May 2017)
Hardware: $186 million (up 26% from $147 million)
PC and console software: $274 million (down 4% from $285 million)
Accessories: $225 million (up 30% from $174 million)

May 2018 spending across video game Hardware, Software, Accessories and Game Cards grew 13 percent when compared to a year ago, to $685 million. Growth in Hardware and Accessories & Game Cards offset a slight decline in Software.

 

Year-to-date spending across video game Hardware, Software, Accessories and Game Cards is up 15 percent when compared to the same period a year ago, to $4.9 billion. Growth has occurred across all categories of spending.

 

SOFTWARE

 

Best Sellers drive growth: Year to date, software spending is up 7 percent versus year ago, to $2.2 billion. Far Cry 5, God of War, and Monster Hunter: World are the year's best-selling titles.

 

State of Decay 2 tops the chart: State of Decay 2 was May's best-selling game, as launch month sales nearly doubled that of the previous entry in the franchise, State of Decay.

 

God of War holds strong: God of War was May's second best-selling title, and now ranks in the same position in year to date sales, trailing only Ubisoft's Far Cry 5.

 

Detroit opens higher than Heavy Rain: Detroit: Become Human was the third best-selling game of the month. Launch month sales of Detroit: Become Human represent a record high for developer Quantic Dream, with sales growth of over 20 percent when compared to its previous launch month best-seller, Heavy Rain.

 

Switch Software sees strong growth: Nintendo Switch software sales in May generated growth of 90 percent when compared to a year ago, delivering the highest software revenues for any Nintendo platform in May since the Nintendo Wii in May 2011. Please note that The NPD Group does not currently track digital sales on Nintendo platforms.

 

Sony was the months top publisher: Sony was May's top-selling software publisher, driven by God of War and Detroit: Become Human. Ubisoft remains the top revenue generating publisher year to date, while Activision Blizzard holds the lead revenue position over the 12 month period ending May.

 

HARDWARE & ACCESSORIES

 

Hardware spending up for the year: For the 2018 year-to-date period, hardware spending has increased 15 percent to $1.3 billion. Spending gains for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Plug N Play devices such as the SNES Classic have driven growth.

 

Best May since 2011: Hardware unit sales in May 2018 reached the highest total for a May since May 2011, while May 2018 dollar sales reached the highest May total since May 2014.

 

Big 3 break records: Sony's PlayStation 4, Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo Switch all achieved all-time unit sales highs for a May month. Previous highs were May 2016 for PlayStation 4, May 2015 for Xbox One, and May 2017 for Switch.

 

PS4 is the months best seller: Sony's PlayStation 4 was the best-selling console hardware platform in May, and remains the best-selling console hardware platform year to date.

 

Switch has a top selling SKU: The Nintendo Switch 32GB w/Neon Red/Blue JoyCon was the month's best-selling hardware SKU in both unit and dollar sales.

 

Accessories Roundup: Sales of Headsets/Headphones more than doubled in May 2018 when compared to a year ago. Year to date, Headsets/Headphones spending has increased 83 percent. The Xbox One Ear Force Recon 50x Gaming Headset from Turtle Beach was the best-selling Headset/Headphone in May, while the company's Xbox One Ear Force Stealth 600 Wireless Headset is the best-selling Headset/Headphone for 2018 year to date.

 

Gamepad spending grew 16 percent in May versus a year ago, with year to date spending growth of 22 percent. The PS4 DualShock 4 Wireless Controller Black is the best-selling Gamepad in both May and 2018 year to date.

 

RANKINGS
Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel, ranked on dollar sales

 

1. State of Decay 2
2. God of War 2018
3. Detroit: Become Human
4. Far Cry 5
5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze*
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. Hyrule Warriors Definitive Ed*
8. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
9. Mario Kart 8*
10. NBA 2K18
11. MLB 18: The Show
12. Call of Duty: WWII
13. Super Mario Odyssey*
14. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
15. FIFA 18^
16. Overwatch^
17. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
18. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
19. Assassin's Creed: Origins
20. Monster Hunter: World

* Digital sales not included
^ PC digital sales not included

 

Xbox One

1. State of Decay 2
2. Far Cry 5
3. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
4. Grand Theft Auto V
5. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
6. Call of Duty: WWII
7. Overwatch
8. Sea Of Thieves
9. NBA 2K18
10. FIFA 18

 

PS4

1. God of War 2018
2. Detroit: Become Human
3. Far Cry 5
4. MLB 18: The Show
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. FIFA 18
7. NBA 2K18
8. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
9. Call of Duty: WWII
10. Overwatch

 

Switch

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
2. Hyrule Warriors Definitive Ed
3. Mario Kart 8
4. Super Mario Odyssey
5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
6. Splatoon 2
7. Kirby Star Allies
8. Labo Toy-Con 01 Variety Kit
9. Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
10. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

 

Year to Date

1. Far Cry 5
2. God of War 2018
3. Monster Hunter: World
4. Call of Duty: WWII
5. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. NBA 2K18
8. MLB 18: The Show
9. Mario Kart 8*
10. Playerunknown's Battlegrounds^

[SaysWho?]

So a few observations:

 

1. State of Decay 2 ranked number 1 despite being $30 (this is ranked in dollar sales).
2. Zombie fatigue? OLOLOLOL
3. God of War holding at number 2 is incredible. Other big Sony exclusives such as Uncharted 4, Horizon, Gran Turismo, Infamous, Killzone, all of them, did not have those kind of legs into month 2. There's a real chance God of War is in the Top 10 for the year.
4. The PS4 Pro/God of War bundle did very well.
5. MLB The Show's holding strong.
6. Hardware is up overall as the PS4/XBO continue to sell well, and the Switch has helped hardware sales as a whole since last year. This is Nintendo's best May since 2011 with the Wii.

[JosephManderley]

A good month for everyone.

 

 

 

[Dodger]

So for MS new games on Games Pass, I'm assuming those just getting the games on Games Pass don't count as a sale as it's not directly generating revenue? Like MS isn't just going to dominate NPD every time it releases a game because it got a million or whatever Games Pass downloads on top of it sales right?

[SaysWho?]

52 minutes ago, Dodger said:

So for MS new games on Games Pass, I'm assuming those just getting the games on Games Pass don't count as a sale as it's not directly generating revenue? Like MS isn't just going to dominate NPD every time it releases a game because it got a million or whatever Games Pass downloads on top of it sales right?

 

Nope, they're separate. This is physical/digital sales of a $30 game topping the revenue chart.

[AbsolutSurgen]

21 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

So a few observations:

 

1. State of Decay 2 ranked number 1 despite being $30 (this is ranked in dollar sales).
2. Zombie fatigue? OLOLOLOL
3. God of War holding at number 2 is incredible. Other big Sony exclusives such as Uncharted 4, Horizon, Gran Turismo, Infamous, Killzone, all of them, did not have those kind of legs into month 2. There's a real chance God of War is in the Top 10 for the year.
4. The PS4 Pro/God of War bundle did very well.
5. MLB The Show's holding strong.
6. Hardware is up overall as the PS4/XBO continue to sell well, and the Switch has helped hardware sales as a whole since last year. This is Nintendo's best May since 2011 with the Wii.

May is a very low month for software sales in general (due to lack of new releases).  (76% of April, 45% of March,  21% of December).

 

Based on its sales to date alone, it would be hard to see God of War falling out of the U.S. Top 10 for sales this year.

 

Additional thoughts:

1) Detroit: Become Human at #3 -- looks like a "bomb".  Particularly with the marketing push they've given it.

 

 

 

[SaysWho?]

2 hours ago, mikechorney said:

May is a very low month for software sales in general (due to lack of new releases).  (76% of April, 45% of March,  21% of December).

 

Based on its sales to date alone, it would be hard to see God of War falling out of the U.S. Top 10 for sales this year.

 

Additional thoughts:

1) Detroit: Become Human at #3 -- looks like a "bomb".  Particularly with the marketing push they've given it.

 

 

 

 

Detroit is outpacing their previous games. Bombing would have been not charting, but number 3 after six days last month? Pretty darn good.

[Biggie]

I’m shocked that MLB The Show has legs. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

1 hour ago, SaysWho? said:

 

Detroit is outpacing their previous games. Bombing would have been not charting, but number 3 after six days last month? Pretty darn good.

Not charting would have been cataclysmic.  If it is true to Matt's comments at 20% higher than Heavy Rain, it only sold about 260k....

[SaysWho?]

2 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

Not charting would have been cataclysmic.  If it is true to Matt's comments at 20% higher than Heavy Rain, it only sold about 260k....

 

It's a one-system game that charted number 3 and is the studio's fastest-selling game, outpacing their previous fastest-selling game. I've not seen one sales analyst who would possibly say this bombed by any stretch of the imagination.

[AbsolutSurgen]

Just now, SaysWho? said:

 

It's a one-system game that charted number 3 and is the studio's fastest-selling game, outpacing their previous fastest-selling game. I've not seen one sales analyst who would possibly say this bombed by any stretch of the imagination.

Charting number 3 in May is not the same as charting number 3 in almost any other month of they year.  260k is a disaster launch for a AAA first party game.  (Quantic Dreams games just don't sell.)

[SaysWho?]

47 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

Charting number 3 in May is not the same as charting number 3 in almost any other month of they year.  260k is a disaster launch for a AAA first party game.  (Quantic Dreams games just don't sell.)

 

No.

 

 

 

This is a strong release by all metrics. By all means, tweet NPD about their errors.  

[AbsolutSurgen]

What exactly would I correct him on? 

 

Heavy Rain didn't se;ll well.  Charted #10 in February 2010 with 220k of sales.  20% better is 260k.  

[SaysWho?]

46 minutes ago, mikechorney said:

What exactly would I correct him on? 

 

Heavy Rain didn't se;ll well.  Charted #10 in February 2010 with 220k of sales.  20% better is 260k.  

 

That it was a successful launch. Nowhere have I seen anyone from NPD or any sales insider say this was a disaster; every piece of information suggests a successful launch.

 

Heavy Rain sold well. It didn't have to sell like God of War 3 to be profitable, nor was 220k its max. Their games aren't being backed because they're sales disasters. 

 

EDIT: @mikechorney To be honest, I'm probably overcompensating just because you said bomb. It's not a bomb by any means, but when I say successful, I mean it's profitable. It's not blowing up the world either (though it didn't need to, I guess). So "pretty darn good" would probably be a bit too in the other direction as well. Probably more like a decent launch.

[AbsolutSurgen]

3 hours ago, SaysWho? said:

 

That it was a successful launch. Nowhere have I seen anyone from NPD or any sales insider say this was a disaster; every piece of information suggests a successful launch.

 

Heavy Rain sold well. It didn't have to sell like God of War 3 to be profitable, nor was 220k its max. Their games aren't being backed because they're sales disasters. 

 

EDIT: @mikechorney To be honest, I'm probably overcompensating just because you said bomb. It's not a bomb by any means, but when I say successful, I mean it's profitable. It's not blowing up the world either (though it didn't need to, I guess). So "pretty darn good" would probably be a bit too in the other direction as well. Probably more like a decent launch.

@SaysWho?  I'll admit to a little hyperbole with the word "bomb".  I probably should have used a less inflammatory word.

 

On a side note:  Reports are that Detroit production costs were roughly double those of Heavy Rain...

[skillzdadirecta]

1 hour ago, mikechorney said:

@SaysWho?  I'll admit to a little hyperbole with the word "bomb".  I probably should have used a less inflammatory word.

 

On a side note:  Reports are that Detroit production costs were roughly double those of Heavy Rain...

 

They spent a lot on marketing too. I can't see how that game made it's money back. Did anybody play it? Was it any good? Heavy Rain pretty much killed my desire to "play" anything from these guys again and I REALLY liked Indigo Prophecy.