EA Sports’ college football game the month’s best-seller in US, followed by Minecraft and The Last of Us; overall industry sales slide 19 percent to $443 million.
NCAA Football 14 was July’s top-selling title in the United States during a month that saw overall sales decline 19 percent, according to the NPD Group’s report released today.
Rounding out the top five best-sellers for July were Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, The Last of Us, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
Total sales for the period fell 19 percent to $443 million, down from $549.1 million in July 2012. According to NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan, however, these sales only make up half of the true consumer spend for the period.
“When taking into account our preliminary estimate for other physical format sales in July such as used and rentals at $134 million, and our estimate for digital format sales including full game and add-on content downloads including micro-transactions, subscriptions, mobile apps and the consumer spend on social network games at $593 million, the total consumer spend in July is just under $1.2 billion,” Callahan said in a statement.
Hardware suffered the worst in July, falling 34 percent to $99.4 million. The 3DS was the top performer during the month, beating out the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita for the third straight month. It was also the only hardware platform to show growth over July 2012.
The Xbox 360 sold 107,000 units in July, down from 203,000 systems in July 2012. Sony has not disclosed sales for the PS3 or PS Vita.
In terms of software, this category fell 20 percent to $222.3 million. While NCAA Football 14 was the top-selling game in the month, its sales were down “slightly” from last year’s game, according to the NPD. It was also the only game released in July to make the chart.
Callahan also noted that if the top software list was ranked on a SKU basis, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition would have landed in the top ten. He explained that this result is “clearly” an indication that gamers who missed out on GTAIV are trying to catch up before the release of Grand Theft Auto V next month.
The accessories sector posted the least precipitous drop in July, falling just 3 percent to $133.4 million. According to the NPD, July 2013 represents the best July on record for point and subscription card sales.
“This is partly driven by fewer games at retail throughout 2013, with gamers seeking content digitally,” he said. “This becomes especially true during the summer where launch slates are lighter.”
JULY US GAME SALES (July 7-August 3, 2013)
OVERALL DOLLAR SALES
Total retail sales: $443 million (-19%)
Non-PC hardware: $99.4 million (-34%)
Non-PC software: $210.1 million (-19%)
Accessories: $133.4 million (-3%)
Total software: $222.3 million (-20%)
TOP 10 GAMES FOR JULY 2013
Title (Platforms) – Publisher
1. NCAA Football 2014 – (X360, PS3), Electronic Arts
2. Minecraft (X360) – Microsoft
3. The Last of Us (PS3) – Sony
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (X360, PS3, Wii U, PC) – Activision Blizzard
5. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) – Nintendo
6. Far Cry 3 (X360, PS3, PC) – Ubisoft
7. Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) – Electronic Arts
8. Injustice: Gods Among Us (X360, PS3, Wii U) – Warner Bros. Interactive
9. NBA 2K13 (X360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC) – Take-Two Interactive
10. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (X360, Wii, DS, PS3, 3DS, Wii U, PS Vita, PC) – Warner Bros. Interactive
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