Madden NFL 19 Rushes to the Top of August NPD Charts, Switch and PS4 Neck and Neck

The NPD Group have released their full North American sales data for August, and, like every month so far in 2018, sales were up year-on-year. Consumers spent $796 million on games and hardware, which is up 26 percent from $634 million last year. Once again, much of that increase can be attributed to a jump in hardware sales – $214 million was spent on hardware in August, up 28 percent from the $168 million spent last year. Meanwhile, August software sales were up 16 percent year-on-year, to $330 million.

On the hardware front, it was a photo finish between the Nintendo Switch and PS4, with the Switch selling the most units and the PS4 edging out a narrow victory in terms of dollar sales. So far, the PS4 remains 2018’s top console, but the Switch is closing the gap, with the standard Red/Blue Joy-Con model being the best-selling single SKU of the year.

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Moving onto software, Madden NFL 19 topped the August charts, as it does every year. Other new additions include Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker at #6, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate at #14, and We Happy Few at #19. There were also some interesting revivals – Monster Hunter: World jumped back to #2, courtesy of a PC release, and yes, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 made the top 10 as fans rushed to buy the now backwards-compatible Xbox 360 game.

Here’s NPD’s full August software top 20:

1. Madden NFL 19
2. Monster Hunter: World
3. Rainbow Six Siege
4. Grand Theft Auto V
5. Mario Kart 8
6. Naruto To Boruto: Shinobi Striker
7. God of War
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
9. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Will
10. Super Mario Odyssey
11. Minecraft
12. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
13. Far Cry 5
14. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
15. Call of Duty: WWII
16. Mario Tennis Aces
17. Overwatch
18. Lego The Incredibles
19. We Happy Few
20. The Crew 2

And here’s the updated list of the best-selling games of the past 12 months:

1. Call of Duty: WWII
2. NBA 2K18
3. Destiny 2
4. Super Mario Odyssey
5. Far Cry 5
6. Star Wars Battlefront II
7. Madden NFL 18
8. Assassin’s Creed Origins
9. God of War
10. FIFA 18

One more slightly quiet month, before things really get competitive in September – it will be interesting to see who comes out on top this holiday season. What are your thoughts on the August NPD numbers? Anything surprise you?