A Game From Nine Years Ago Made The Top 10 Best-Seller US Chart For August 2018

How did the video game industry fare in August? The NPD Group has released its report for August 2018 US sales, and starting with games, it was EA's Madden NFL 19 that sold the best during the month. That is no surprise at all, as EA's Madden series has topped the sales charts for every August dating back to 2000 with the exception of 2011 and 2012 when the new instalments were released in NPD's September tracking period.

A specific unit sales figure was not disclosed for Madden NFL 19, but the NPD Group reported that its launch-month sales were the highest since Madden NFL 13. This includes both physical and digital sales.

Rounding out the top five best-sellers in the US during August 2018 included Monster Hunter: World, Rainbow Six Siege, Grand Theft Auto V, and Mario Kart 8. GTA V's performance is especially notable considering the game launched all the way back in 2013. It is now the fifth best-selling game of 2018, while the game has now been in NPD's top-seller charts for 59 of the game's 60 months on the market. GTA V is the highest-selling game in the history of NPD tracking.

Also notable for August 2018 was the 2009 game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 charting at No. 8. The game was added to the Xbox One backwards compatibility catalog at the end of August, and its physical sales on Xbox 360 helped it substantially. In July 2018, Modern Warfare 2 was the 321st best-selling game of that month.

Total video game software spending in the US during August 2018 amounted to $330 million, which is up 16 percent year-over-year.

On the hardware side, spending rose 28 percent to $214 million. The PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and the NES Classic all saw sales rises compared to last year. Plug-and-play systems like the NES Classic performed particularly well, with sales of such consoles growing by a factor of 21x compared to last year; year to date, dollar sales of plug-and-play consoles jumped 400 percent year to date. The NES Classic leads the way in terms of total units sold in 2018, while the SNES Classic, which is more expensive, has driven the most dollar sales.

Across hardware and software, total video game spending reached $796 million, which is up 26 percent year over year. The biggest months of the year for hardware and game sales are coming up, with many major new releases coming in September, October, November, and December.

August 2018 Top 20 All-Platforms

*No digital sales

1. Madden NFL 19*
2. Monster Hunter: World
3. Rainbow Six Siege
4. GTA 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 Wild*
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

Xbox One

1. Madden NFL 19
2. Rainbow Six Siege
3. GTA V
4. PUBG
5. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
6. Overwacth
7. Naruto To Boruto: Shinobi Striker
8. Far Cry 5
9. Call of Duty: WWII
10. Star Wars: Battlefront II

PlayStation 4

1. Madden NFL 19
2. God of War
3. Naruto To Boruto: Shinobi Striker
4. GTA V
5. Rainbow Six Siege
6. Horizon: Zero Dawn
7. Detroit: Become Human
8. Far Cry 5
9. MLB The Show 18
10. We Happy Few

Nintendo Switch

No digital sales

1. Mario Kart 8
2. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3. Super Mario Odyssey
4. Monster Hunter: Generations Ultimate
5. Mario Tennis Aces
6. Octopath Traveler
7. Splatoon 2
8. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
9. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
10. Minecraft

3DS

No digital sales

1. Pokemon: Ultra Sun
2. Warioware: Gold
3. Pokemon: Ultra Moon
4. Mario Kart 7
5. Super Smash Bros.
6. Super Mario 3D Land
7. Minecraft
8. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
9. Super Mario Maker
10. Mario Party: The Top 100

This story has been updated.