Video Games sales in U.S. May 2016
Overall trends across new physical software, hardware, and accessories in May 2016 rose by 4 percent, or $19.3MM, due to 18 percent growth of new physical software, which offset the 10 percent decline of hardware, and the 2 percent decline in accessories.
NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales (New Physical Sales Channel*) - May 2016
4-week month; Reporting Period 05/01/16 through 05/28/16
| Dollar Sales | May'15 | May'16 | CHG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Video Game Sales (New Physical Channel) | $509.3M | $528.6M | 4% |
| Video Games Hardware | $153.1M | $137.7M | -10% |
| Video Games Software (Console+Portable - New Physical Sales only) | $204.7M | $241.9M | 18% |
| Video Games Accessories | $151.5M | $149.0M | -2% |
| Total Software Sales - (Console+Portable+PC - New Physical Sales Only) | $212.3M | $253.2M | 19% |
Hardware
As we head into E3 2016, it is encouraging to see such a healthy install base of the Xbox One and PS4, which currently have 43 percent higher cumulative unit sales than their predecessors at the same point in their lifecycles.
While hardware sales decreased by 10 percent overall, the majority of the decline in sales stemmed from portables, down $7.3MM and 7th generation hardware, down $5MM. Eighth generation hardware unit sales were stable, but dollar sales decreased by 2 percent or $3MM due to a decrease in average price for these consoles.
Software
New launches were a major driver of the growth seen in May 2016 compared to May 2015. Collectively, May 2016 new launches sold nearly double in unit sales and 108 percent more in dollars as new launches last May. These May 2016 launches represented 51 percent of overall new physical software sales for the month.
Eighth generation new physical software sales increased by 50 percent in May 2016 compared to last May.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, was the best-selling game for May 2016 - a considerable feat given its platform exclusivity. Uncharted 4 also marked the best first month of sales for any game in the Uncharted series after Uncharted 3, which is remarkable given the fact that it launched during the holiday period (in November 2011).
The success of Uncharted helped Sony rank as the leading software publisher for May 2016. Year to date, driven by the success of Tom Clancy's The Division, Ubisoft is the top-selling software publisher.
Doom (2016) ranked second for May 2016 sales on a unit basis and had the best first month of sales for any game in the franchise when combining sales across platforms - exceeding sales of Doom 3's launch on the PC in August 2004.
Overwatch was the third best-selling game for May with only a few days on the market. When comparing Overwatch sales for days in the market, this title doubled the sales of Doom.
| May 2016 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC) | Rank | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)** | 1 | Sony (Corp) |
| Doom 2016 (PS4, XBO, PC)** | 2 | Bethesda Softworks |
| Overwatch (PS4, XBO, PC)** | 3 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| Battleborn (PS4, XBO, PC) | 4 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC) | 5 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Minecraft (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3) | 6 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| NBA 2K16 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)** | 7 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops III (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)** | 8 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| MLB 16: The Show (PS4, PS3)** | 9 | Sony (Corp) |
| Dark Souls III (PS4, XBO)** | 10 | Bandai Namco Games (Corp) |
Accessories
Within accessories there were mixed results by accessory type that resulted in an overall decline of 2 percent in dollar sales or $2.5MM.
Video game point and subscription cards increased sales by 8 percent. May 2016 marked the best May on record for sales of video game point and subscription cards.
Gamepad dollar sales rose 12 percent on a modest unit sales decline of 1 percent as consumers are spending more on higher-priced items, such as the Xbox Elite controller. Average prices for gamepads rose 13 percent over May 2015.
Headsets & headphones had an increase of 18 percent in sales over May 2015, translating to $3.3MM more dollars than last year.