Video Games retail / e-tail sales in U.S. January 2015
January 2015 retail sales data across hardware, software and accessories decreased by 6 percent from January 2014, with growth in software (up $12.4 million) and Accessories (up $5.4 million) unable to offset hardware declines of $54 million.
NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales (New Physical Sales Channel*) - January 2015
4-week month; Reporting Period 01/04/15 through 01/31/15
Dollar Sales | Jan'14 | Jan'15 | CHG |
Total Video Game Sales (New Physical Channel) | $662.1M | $625.7M | -5% |
Video Games Hardware | $239.6M | $185.5M | -23% |
Video Games Software (Console+Portable - New Physical Sales only) | $223.2M | $235.7M | 6% |
Video Games Accessories | $199.2M | $204.6M | 3% |
Total Software Sales - (Console+Portable+PC - New Physical Sales Only) | $231.2M | $242.3M | 5% |
Hardware
Hardware sales declined by 23 percent as sales cooled off after the holiday season. Eighth generation console hardware sales were down by 22 percent while seventh generation console hardware sales decreased by 35 percent.
The combined hardware install base of PS4 and Xbox One is close to 60 percent higher than the cumulative hardware totals for Xbox 360 and PS3 at the same point in their lifecycles (after 15 months).
Software
Software spending rose 5 percent from January 2014 as eighth generation console spending outpaced seventh generation console software sales. Eighth generation software increased by 74 percent, seventh generation decreased by 36 percent and dedicated portable software sales dropped by 12 percent.
The sales of January 2015 launch titles were up over 200 percent versus January 2014, with Dying Light being the major new release of the month. If January 2015 releases performed in line with January 2014 releases, overall software sales would have decreased by 4 percent.
In January 2015, Dying Light had the highest first month of sales for new IP in the Survival Horror genre, exceeding the previous record, The Evil Within, which launched in October 2014.
| January 2015 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC) | Rank | Publisher |
| Dying Light (PS4, XBO, PC) | 1 | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)** | 2 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| Grand Theft Auto V (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3)** | 3 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Minecraft (360, PS3, XBO, PS4) | 4 | Microsoft (Corp) / Sony (Corp) |
| NBA 2K15 (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3, PC) | 5 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Super Smash Bros. (NWU, 3DS)* | 6 | Nintendo |
| Far Cry 4 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)** | 7 | Ubisoft |
| Madden NFL 15 (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3)** | 8 | Electronic Arts |
| Destiny (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3)** | 9 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| FIFA 15 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, Wii, PSV, 3DS)** | 10 | Electronic Arts |
Accessories
The 3 percent increase in accessories spending was due to increased sales of gamepads, interactive gaming toys, headsets/headphones, and power supplies. Sales of these four accessory types all increased when compared to last January.
Much like the trends seen in software, increased accessory spending for eighth generation consoles for gamepads as well as headphones/headsets offset any seventh generation console and portable accessory spending declines.