Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
November 2013 NPD: Sony Leads The Way
The November 2013 NPD Report is out, and after selling through one million units on the first day of PlayStation 4’s North American life, Sony sits atop the charts. Additionally, Sony’s next-gen software sales exceeded those of the competition.
On the PlayStation Blog, Sony has touted its success, thanking fans. The PlayStation 4 was the top selling home console in the month of November starting with the launch in North America on November 15. No numbers were given. According to NPD's Liam Callahan, this is the highest first month for a platform on record.
Microsoft has said that the Xbox One is the fastest selling console in November with 909,132 units sold since November 22. According to Microsoft chief of staff for the devices and studios group Aaron Greenberg (via Twitter), over 100,000 Xbox Ones were sold each day with an average attach rate of two games. Xbox One sales amount to three times what the Xbox 360 did in its first month (November 2005). NPD says that the Xbox One had a higher weekly average than the PlayStation 4, pointing out though that console launches in their second week typically experience diminished supply.
Nintendo has announced that sales of the 3DS family (3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS) have crested 10 million units. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds sold over 280,000 copies inclusive of digital and physical (with another 125,000 units or so coming from the limited edition 3DS that includes the game). Super Mario 3D World sold 215,000 units across physical and digital. Both Zelda and Mario were on the market for nine days in this period.
The industry saw growth for the fourth straight month, up 7 percent year-over-year in November. Total retail spend was $1.9 billion for the month. Hardware sales jumped 80 percent thanks to the new hardware, and accessories are up 17 percent on continued strong sales of Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures (both titles charted in the top ten this month). Additionally, controller sales are understandably up, with a 40 percent year-over-year rise.
Here are the ten best selling games across all platforms.
- Call Of Duty: Ghosts (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, PC, NWU)
- Battlefield 4 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, PC)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (360, PS4, PS3, XBO, PC, NWU)
- Madden NFL 25 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO)
- Grand Theft Auto V (360, PS3)
- NBA 2K14 (360, PS4, PS3, XBO, PC)
- Skylanders SWAP Force (WII, 360, PS3, NWU, 3DS, XBO, PS4)
- Just Dance 2014 (WII, 360, NWU, XBO, PS3, PS4)**
- Disney Infinity (WII, 360, PS3, NWU, 3DS)
- FIFA 14 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, PSV)
Note that NPD reports include United States retail sales only. In the future, the group will be incorporating digital worldwide sales into its reporting.
Our Take
Next-gen consoles and software swooped in to upend this month’s report. For the first time in months, the 3DS doesn’t have a strong showing. Call of Duty: Ghosts, Assassin’s Creed IV, Skylanders, Just Dance, and Disney Infinity all appear on the Wii U, but I’m willing to bet that the Nintendo versions aren’t significant contributors.
Zelda doesn’t appear, nor does Pokemon, and I would have guessed that one of those would have charted. I’m not surprised by Mario’s absence, but it also seems like a shame given the love that game is getting from critics.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
