While the PlayStation 4 dominated the United States hardware charts five months in a row earlier this year, the Nintendo Switch kept the throne warm for a second month in August 2018. It's the third time this year that Sony’s ageing platform has fallen just short, but with Marvel’s Spider-Man reportedly ripping up the record books around the world, would you bet against it in September?
It's shaping up to be a great year for all three console manufacturers regardless, with the PS4 the top selling system in 2018 so far, and industry spend up 26 per cent for August 2018 specifically. A lot of this is being driven by improved hardware performance across the board, with revenue reaching $214 million this year compared to a comparatively paltry $168 million 12 months ago.
Madden NFL 19 blitzed its way to the top of the software charts, becoming the fastest-selling instalment since Madden NFL 13 around six years ago. It’s unclear why exactly it did so well, but it is a good version of the annual franchise, so perhaps it convinced lapsed fans to come back. Monster Hunter: World, buoyed by its PC port, slashed its way all the way back up to second, proving all over again that there’s a huge market for Capcom’s iconic franchise on stationary devices.
Elsewhere, the almost decade-old Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 re-entered the top ten on the back of its addition to the Xbox One’s backward compatibility programme, while God of War continued to linger in seventh position. We Happy Few charted all the way down in 19th place, as anime tie-in Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker entered in a surprising sixth position. We’ve included all of the relevant charts and tables below.
NPD Software Top 20: August 2018
- Madden NFL 19**
- Monster Hunter: World
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Mario Kart 8*
- Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker
- God of War
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- Super Mario Odyssey*
- Minecraft
- Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
- Far Cry 5
- Monster Hunter: Generations Ultimate
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Mario Tennis Aces*
- Overwatch**
- LEGO The Incredibles
- We Happy Few*
- The Crew 2
NPD PS4 Software Top 10: August 2018
- Madden NFL 19
- God of War
- Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Detroit: Become Human
- Far Cry 5
- MLB 18: The Show
- We Happy Few*
NPD Best Selling Games of 2018 So Far
- Far Cry 5
- God of War
- Monster Hunter: World
- Madden NFL 19**
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Dragon Ball: FighterZ
- Mario Kart 8
- NBA 2K18
- Super Mario Odyssey
* No digital sales included
** No PC digital sales included
[source venturebeat.com]
Comments 18
Shenmue.
@beemo Yeah but God of War and Monster Hunter: World are in the top three. That's pretty neat.
I didn’t expect Monster Hunter to be that popular 😯
Also, Madden is the 4th best-selling game of the year despite launching only a month ago. Crazy.
The world doesn't produce enough babies to keep up with the GTAV sales, so I'm certain it's just Rockstar buying their own stock and selling it again, over and over.
Can't wait to see how spider-man fare in us, it's doing amazing in japan and uk
@get2sammyb It's amazing to see Monster Hunter enjoy so much success in the West. It's a legitimate worldwide phenomenon at this point.
September PlayStation 4 would definitely win npd because of spider man.
The Best Selling games of 2018 list is gonna change every month from now on. With Spiderman this month And CoD and RDR2 Next month and Battlefield 5 in November.
September and October will be interesting. I could see PS4 taking one or both but the Switch hype has kicked into gear lately with some good summer releases and Nintendo Online, then you have Pokemon and Smash hype starting soon. November and December should definitely go to Nintendo but Sony and MS will heavily discount like they do every year. No matter what, everybody is looking to close 2018 strong.
Perhaps worth pointing out that leaked numbers put about 9,000 units between PS4 and Switch this month, so ridiculously close.
Great numbers overall. Not related to NPD, but it’s also about sales; Spider-man's week 2 sales more than doubled Tomb Raider's launch week sales in the UK. It shows how strong exclusives are.
GoW is ahead of Far Cry 5 while being on one platform. It might outsell it in the long run as well in the NPD
@get2sammyb Maybe a lot of fans bought it digital right🤔 I mean that game release like if it was limited edition I haven't seen any physical edition around my area
I think a lot of people are eating crows that hardware sale is up again. Is it unusual this late in the gen for PlayStation hardware to be up?
@Tsurii You sound like an old grumpy guy who hates how things change (not saying you are) thanks to all of those changes both franchise are enjoying success and gaining new fans, don't get me wrong I liked the old games but with the new changes the games are better than ever, I don't see how this new fans are a bad thing
Edit: Not to mention awakening and Fates save fire emblem from doom
@Tsurii they’re called “MHW Veterans” apparently on Twitch & such...
@Tsurii Yeah i agree on the jewels and charms being switched, as for the maps the same can be said from the older games and thank goodness they let you move now instead of been stuck in one place and wait for the stupid flexing animations that was annoying as hell I die many times thanks to that I know you find it like part of the strategy but as a casual hunter and many others getting rid of that was for the best but if so many hardcore masochists I mean players 😜miss the flexing animation maybe Capcom should add it as an option
@Tsurii Well I think since this game it's not divided in sections like the older games in which you could get out the map to another area and heal or sharp your hammer lol been stuck in one place wouldn't work or make sense and yea I see your point rocksteady mantle but extreme behemoth it's no joke even with all mantles same for the arch monsters they are challenging but not unfair like Apex on 4U in which if your wystone wears you can't even hit the damn monster that was artificial difficulty and unfair in my opinion
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