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NPD First Half 2018 Report: Xbox and NES/SNES Classic doing great, $19.5B spent, game rev up 43% YoY

Nirolak

Nirolak

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Oct 25, 2017
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NPD released a report on the first half of 2018: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...n-video-games-in-us-during-first-half-of-2018

Some highlights:
  • The US video game market made $19.5 billion in the first half of 2018, up 40% year over year.
  • Hardware is up 21% year over year to $1.7 billion. NPD calls out the Xbox One and the NES/SNES Classic as particularly strong performers for year over year market growth. The PS4 was the best selling platform overall for this window.
  • Game revenue is up 43% year over year to $16.9 billion. Mobile was the strongest grower of any category.
  • Major game highlights include Fortnite, Candy Crush, PUBG, Roblox, Far Cry 5, and God of War.
  • Accessory sales are up 41% year over year, with headset and headphone sales doubling year over year. Most vendors of these products attribute this to Fortnite.
  • NPD's MatPiscatella expects the year to end up double digits from 2017 due to the strong line-up closing out the year.
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In case you missed it previously, here are the best selling AAA games of the year so far. Of the new releases, the only ones that would appear in the best sellers of the past 12 months would be Far Cry 5 (#6) and God of War (#10), in case you were wondering what the gulf between spots might look like.
  1. Far Cry 5
  2. God of War (2018)
  3. Monster Hunter: World
  4. Call of Duty: WWII
  5. Grand Theft Auto V
  6. Dragon Ball FighterZ
  7. Mario Kart 8 *
  8. NBA 2K18
  9. MLB 18: The Show
  10. Super Mario Odyssey *
 
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~Fake

~Fake

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God of War make me so happy. Talent always win.
 

KratosEnergyDrink

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That means that XOne performed strong relatively to last year, but sales are probably still below PS4 and Switch? The op is worded a bit ambiguous.
 

lost7

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Feb 20, 2018
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Zappy said:
What is driving Xbox YoY growth? The X? I assume it has to be.
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The X, Fortnite, but also the fact that Microsoft has managed to make the product desirable in general with vary interesting services. Considering how dire the situation looked at one point, I would say it's been a great turn around
 
Jarod McChicken

Jarod McChicken

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Oct 27, 2017
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NPD calls out the Xbox One and the NES/SNES Classic as particularly strong performers.
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Before this causes inevitable confusion for those who don't follow NPD threads, the Xbox One is mentioned because it has the strongest growth year on year following a dreadful 2017. However this doesn't mean the Xbox One is the "strongest performer" or that it is outpacing the PS4, which the Games Industry article doesn't even bother to inform it's still the best selling console in the US in 2018. While in progress compared to 2017, the Xbox One is also behind the Switch for the year.

If anyone reads this article casually without much knowledge of the trends, he can easily thinks that the PS4 has nothing to do with how great the market is doing right now. You can't just talk about the growth year on year without explaining the full picture.
 
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Deleted member 42686

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God of War derseves all the glory. Fantastic job.

I'm also super happy for Far Cry as well. After my terrible experience with Far Cry 4, I though I would never touch Far Cry games again. But the game is really that enjoyable and worth the time.
 

Deleted member 3897

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GHG said:
Growth in the hardcore gamer sector.
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vVkoPPU.gif
 
Zedark

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Nirolak minor correction/nitpick: Super Mario Odyssey and NBA2k18 would rank in the top 10 for the last 12 months (in fact, it does). I think you specifically meant for the new releases.
 

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If anyone has questions I'll be happy to answer what I can. Will be back in a couple hours and respond.

The press release offers more detail, but yeah the Xbox One and SNES Classics are pointed out for growth. PS4 is the best selling hardware platform of the year. A bit lost in translation.
 
Wandu

Wandu

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Oct 27, 2017
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Lelouch0612 said:
The X yes but it is not the only factor : Fortnite, Gamepass and a better momentum compared to 2017 are drong drivers of sales.
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Stoopkid said:
I think it's been over 6 months since Xbox has outsold ps4
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lost7 said:
The X, Fortnite, but also the fact that Microsoft has managed to make the product desirable in general with vary interesting services. Considering how dire the situation looked at one point, I would say it's been a great turn around
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The first 6-7 months of XB1 last year was also very low, so growth was to be expected especially with X being on the market for this year. If it didn't have growth when 2017 was one of the worst (if not worst) years for Xbox, then that would really be a problem. The only downplay I could ever give is the fact that PS4 still increases its gap in the US with all these things that Xbox is doing to improve its brand and still cannot touch PS4 numbers in the US. Still good for Xbox though.

GHG said:
Growth in the hardcore gamer sector.
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This is just amazing!​
 
AlexxKidd

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User Banned (2 Weeks): System warring, a history of similar behaviour.
Jarod McChicken said:
Before this causes inevitable confusion for those who don't follow NPD threads, the Xbox One is mentioned because it has the strongest growth year on year following a dreadful 2017. However this doesn't mean the Xbox One is the "strongest performer" or that it is outpacing the PS4, which the Games Industry article doesn't even bother to inform it's still the best selling console in the US in 2018. While in progress compared to 2017, the Xbox One is also behind the Switch for the year.

If anyone reads this article casually without much knowledge of the trends, he can easily thinks that the PS4 has nothing to do with how great the market is doing right now. It's crazy to only point out the growth.
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It's called "spin," and as we can see it's not just for politics.
 
New Fang

New Fang

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Stoopkid said:
I think it's been over 6 months since Xbox has outsold ps4
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This is what's so strange. The NPD reports keep saying how strong Xbox sales are, but then the monthly report still shows the PS4 beating it.

Jarod McChicken said:
Before this causes inevitable confusion for those who don't follow NPD threads, the Xbox One is mentioned because it has the strongest growth year on year following a dreadful 2017. However this doesn't mean the Xbox One is the "strongest performer" or that it is outpacing the PS4, which the Games Industry article doesn't even bother to inform it's still the best selling console in the US in 2018. While in progress compared to 2017, the Xbox One is also behind the Switch for the year.

If anyone reads this article casually without much knowledge of the trends, he can easily thinks that the PS4 has nothing to do with how great the market is doing right now. You can't just talk about the growth year on year without explaining the full picture.
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Thanks for explaining this.
 
OP
OP
Nirolak

Nirolak

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Oct 25, 2017
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MatPiscatella said:
If anyone has questions I'll be happy to answer what I can. Will be back in a couple hours and respond.

The press release offers more detail, but yeah the Xbox One and SNES Classics are pointed out for growth. PS4 is the best selling hardware platform of the year. A bit lost in translation.
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I did not realize NPD covers mobile. Was NPD ever intending to release press releases, monthly charts, or any other such info for mobile games?
 
Khrol

Khrol

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Oct 28, 2017
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There was obviously no guarantee but Xbox being up YoY is not too suprising given that the X is so expensive and a desirable piece of hardware. I look forward to seeing if that growth can continue next year.
 
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