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Grand Theft Auto V Leads Strong September In Latest NPD Report
In news that will surprise absolutely no one, Grand Theft Auto V has taken the top spot on the September 2013 NPD report. The Nintendo 3DS continues its hardware dominance for another month (with October likely to be strong as well thanks to the 2DS and Pokémon titles). Nintendo is also reporting significant gains for the Wii U thanks to The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD and a $50 price cut.
Total sector sales were up 27 percent over September 2012 cresting the $1 billion mark (up from $848 million), largely thanks to the outlier performance of Grand Theft Auto V. GTA V became the top-selling September release since the NPD began tracking in 1995. Hardware dropped again as the console cycle winds down, with $183.2 million in sales compared to $211 million in September 2012 (a 13 percent drop). Accessories are up 2 percent on the performance of Disney Infinity, and October should be even stronger with the release of Skylanders: Swap Force.
The PlayStation 3 ousted Microsoft's Xbox 360 after 32 months atop the console hardware mountain. The NPD cites the PS3/Grand Theft Auto V bundle as the primary driver.
Nintendo announced that sales of the Wii U are up 200 percent over August, with only 15 days of that under the new price point. Unfortunately, Nintendo has not revealed how many units it sold in August, so we have no way of knowing exactly how many that is, just that it's "better."
Here are the top ten best selling games for September 2013:
- Grand Theft Auto V (360, PS3)
- Madden NFL 25 (360, PS3)
- NBA 2K14 (360, PS3, PC)
- Diablo III (360, PS3, PC)
- FIFA 14 (360, PS3, Vita)
- Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX (PS3)
- Disney Infinity (360, WII, PS3, NWU, 3DS)
- NHL 14 (360, PS3)
- Minecraft (360)
- Saints Row IV (360, PS3, PC)
Only one month left to go before the release of next-generation hardware and software. As a reminder, NPD currently only tracks physical sales in the United States.
Our Take
There are some interesting inclusions on this list, including Diablo III (which is a great port) and Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix. While the top of three spots are not terribly surprising, the remainder is a mix that includes family friendly titles. Strong performance was clearly tied to Grand Theft Auto V, and it will be very interesting to see if performance keeps up as we enter October.
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