While it may feel like the quality of EA Sports’ output has taken a nosedive, its sales are not exactly hurting, as the publisher has landed a one-two punch on the US sales charts for August 2020. Madden NFL 21 was ranked the best-selling title by dollar sales, with EA Sports UFC 4 sitting closely behind in second place – what are you going to do? Consumers coughed up $3.3 billion across the industry overall, which is up an impressive 37 per cent year-over-year.
Despite receiving a bit of a critical and consumer mauling, Madden NFL 21 enjoyed “double-digit percentage dollar sales growth when compared to the release month of Madden NFL 20”, which in layman terms means it did much, much better than last year’s game. Clearly the coronavirus pandemic is having an impact, but that’s still an unexpected result in our opinion. EA Sports UFC 4 also set a new record for mixed martial arts games from the publisher.
Elsewhere, the excellent Ghost of Tsushima continued to sell strongly, finishing up in fourth position, while golf simulation PGA Tour 2K21 debuted in 14th place. Much of the rest of the chart is dominated by Nintendo games, as the Switch continues to outpace its competition by breaking records. Final Fantasy VII Remake did enjoy a resurgence on the back of some big promotions, including a sizeable discount on the PlayStation Store. All of the relevant data is included below.
NPD Software Top 20: August 2020
- Madden NFL 21
- EA Sports UFC 4
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Paper Mario: The Origami King*
- Mortal Kombat 11
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- The Last of Us: Part 2
- Minecraft: PS4 Edition
- PGA Tour 2K21*
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
- Super Mario Party*
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
- Super Mario Odyssey*
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Luigi's Mansion 3
NPD PS4 Software: August 2020
- Madden NFL 21
- Ghost of Tsushima
- EA Sports UFC 4
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- The Last of Us: Part 2
- Minecraft: PS4 Edition
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- MLB The Show 20
- Marvel's Spider-Man
- PGA Tour 2K21*
NPD Best Selling Games of 2020 So Far
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- The Last of Us: Part 2
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Madden NFL 21
- Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
- MLB The Show 20
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
- Mortal Kombat 11
* Digital sales not included
[source venturebeat.com]
Comments 15
And this is why EA will never change, they don’t need to. They’ll take the bad press if it means they get a ton of money every year.
The power of the boycott. How will EA cope?
@Matroska Indeed. Damn good boycott this year, everyone!
The Yard in Madden is actually tons of fun with friends.
Loved Ghost of Tsushima and great to see TLOU2 as the 3rd best selling game of 2020. Amazing send off to the PS4 by Sony.
Oh yeah, people will complain about being spoon fed the same game every year but that won't stop them from paying full price for it, hell probably even preordering it. The lack of thought process is astounding, absolutely astounding. Pavlov would find it hilarious.
I bought Madden on day one from 2000-2016 then finally stopped. I just couldn’t stand the repetitiveness. I bought 2019 after several months just to try it and it felt exactly the same as 2016. Played it for a bit then traded it in. I know EA has been getting an earful from the community but unfortunately that’s just a minority of who actually buys the game. The people who are super casual gamers that buy it every year are the ones who are blind to what EA is doing because they just don’t care as long as they get the updated rosters. I really hope EA listens to the more hardcore crowd and makes big changes because I’d love to get back into it one day
@SidNightwalker The thing is that to the casual gamer who buys only 2-3 games full price every year, and play the games for countless hours, buying Madden every year is a good investment. And generally people don't follow the gaming news, metacritic, or social media drama around these games, so they have no idea.
And in a way, if they enjoy it that way, well, what can we say. I think we're paying the price of our beloved geeky hobby becoming mainstream : we get a lot more choice, with real gems aplenty, but we have to put up with big turds like EA sports games...
@Olmaz Guess im Lucky i never buy sportgames anyway. I think i didnt buy one EA game full price this generation.
@Flaming_Kaiser Oh, I haven't bought a game full price this generation, period. EA or not. Unless you're all about multiplayer games and/or social media zeitgeist, there is no positive to buy a game when it comes out : the games are bugged, incomplete, and overpriced. I set discount limit for each game I want to buy and then just wait... haven't regretted the move ever since.
As for sports games, I am the same. I only bought FIFA18 very heavily discounted for the World Cup mode back then... and haven't even touched the games that came with PS+
@Olmaz I bought all firstparty games at launch and few of my favorite RPG's.
@Olmaz Playing a game you're really looking forward to the day it comes out is kind of a positive. Like I can't imagine a scenario where I actually waited for TLoU II to go on sale, for example, and that has little to do with social media.
But in general I'd agree waiting is probably a smart move in most cases.
@zupertramp Genuinely curious : why is it that playing a game day one gives you more positive feelings than a few months later? Is it the fear of spoilers (which for TLoU2 would be justified)? Is it just the eagerness?
I was like that during the PS3 era, never missing release date for a Soulsborne, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted or God of War game. When I first made the move towards waiting until a discount, I was wary of how I would manage the wait, but frankly there is so much to play nowadays that I never get bored, and getting a completed, not bugged, all QoL options added game to play when I finally buy is worth it.
@Olmaz Well I was definitely concerned about spoilers in this case but really, it's just simply a matter of wanting to play it already and having the money to do so.
I think the game is like $10 off now so I guess I could have waited 4 months to save $10 but like, why? I'm by no means rich but that seems like a negligible difference in the grand scheme of things.
Also there's just me being older and less enamored with every little thing that comes out, making the games I really like to play few and far between.
Still, like I said, your approach has its merits (I just bought Spider-Man on sale and I'm loving it) but I think the gaming industry would be in shambles were there not people to buy at least their favorites upon release.
The reality is, I guess anyone posting comments on a news site, or on a gaming forum is part of 10% of the gaming market at most, and probably a much smaller amount than that. All the things we get worked up about, or excited about, are largely irrelevant. Most people that buy games don't keep up with gaming news or reviews.
@Olmaz I do the same thing you do, but recently, I've bought some indies games at or near launch and I've realized It's fun to be among the first players to get some trophies or to platinum a game.
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