The NPD Group have released their full July sales data, and, much like June, it was a good month for Nintendo. Consumers spent $749 million on games and hardware, which is up 14 percent from $655 million last year. Most of that increase can be attributed to a jump in hardware sales – $217 million was spent on hardware in July, up 19 percent from the $193 million spent last year. Meanwhile, July software sales were actually down 12 percent year-on-year, to $246 million.
The Nintendo Switch topped the hardware charts for the first time since December 2017, marking the seventh month the console has won since launching in March 2017. While they didn’t take the month, Microsoft and Sony aren’t exactly hurting – Xbox One July sales were up 50 percent year-over-year, and the PS4 is still 2018’s top-selling console to date. So far this year, hardware spending has remained at its highest level since 2011.
Related “Xbox All Access” Service Reportedly Planned, Will Bundle a Console, Xbox Live, Game Pass
On the software front, surprise retro RPG hit Octopath Traveler took the top spot. The Switch dominated the top 10, with Mario Kart 8, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Mario Tennis Aces also nabbing spots. Meanwhile, the ridiculously resilient Grand Theft Auto V was once again the top-selling game on both Xbox One and PS4.
Here’s NPD’s full July software top 20:
- Octopath Traveler
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Mario Kart 8
- Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Far Cry 5
- Super Mario Odyssey
- The Crew 2
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
- Mario Tennis Aces
- FIFA 18
- Lego Incredibles
- God of War
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
- NBA 2K18
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Detroit: Become Human
- MLB 18: The Show
- Minecraft
- Destiny 2
And here’s the updated list of the best-selling games of the past 12 months:
- Call of Duty: WWII
- NBA 2K18
- Destiny 2
- Madden NFL 18
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Far Cry 5
- Star Wars: Battlefront II
- Assassin’s Creed: Origins
- Grand Theft Auto V
- God of War 2018
Nintendo seems to be building up some good momentum over the summer – it will be interesting to see who comes out on top once the big fall shopping season hits. What are your thoughts on NPD’s July numbers? Anything surprise you?
