The NPD has revealed that total industry sales in the United States last month were $1.97 billion, which is down 24% from the $2.6 billion seen in November 2015. By category, hardware was $723.8 million (down 35%), console software was $955.2 million (down 18%), PC software was $27.5 million (down 28%), and accessories was $259.8 million (down 6%).
As NPD analyst Sam Naji explained, “The year-on-year software revenue decline was driven by the strong comparison to last November’s top 3 titles,” which included Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Fallout 4, and Star Wars Battlefront. The top three this year were Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Battlefield 1, and Pokemon Sun, but Infinite Warfare sold less than Black Ops 3 and Pokemon had a lower price point. “The decline can be fully attributed to the top 3 selling games which, combined, sold 43 percent less than the top 3 games from last November,” Naji added. “Combined spending across all other titles grew 12 percent in November compared with a year ago.”
Looking at hardware, Naji said, “Total hardware spending in November declined 35 percent compared to year ago as growth in portable hardware sales was offset by declines in console hardware spending, particularly on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.” Part of this drop is likely due to the cheaper price of the PS4 and Xbox One during Black Friday – which is back in effect this holiday.
We already know PS4 was the #1 selling system in November, and Naji adds that the 500GB Uncharted 4 bundle “accounted for 30 percent of all hardware units sold.” Meanwhile, 3DS unit sales grew 59% year-over-year, and the NES Classic Edition sold 196,000 units in its first month.
Finally, Naji revealed that the DualShock 4 was the #1 selling gamepad in November, and LEGO Dimensions was the market leader in the interactive-gaming toys segment with 38 revenue share in November. However, the interactive-gaming toys segment was down 49% year-over-year. Naji didn’t say how PlayStation VR performed last month.
Here’s the top 10 best-selling games of November 2016 (October 30 through November 26) in the United States through physical and digital retailers, keeping in mind that digital sales weren’t tracked for Pokemon Sun/Moon or Skyrim:
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
- Battlefield 1
- Pokemon Sun
- Pokemon Moon
- Titanfall 2
- NBA 2K17
- Madden NFL 17
- Watch Dogs 2
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- FIFA 17
If you combine Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare would have placed in 2nd.
Are you surprised to see Titanfall 2 in the top five, after debuting in 9th in October?
[Source: Games Industry, Venture Beat]
