The NPD Group reveals the top selling games of September 2015, with NBA 2K16, Madden NFL 16, Metal Gear Solid 5, FIFA 16, and Destiny at the top of the list.
The NPD results for September are in, and it looks like fans of sports games turned out in droves to purchase this year's entry in their favorite annual franchises. However, despite the dedicated fan bases for these games, overall software sales were down 3% compared to the same time last year.
The PlayStation 4 led hardware sales for September, but hardware suffered a steeper decline than software sales, down 23% this year. Gaming software still managed to pull strong numbers in September largely because the month consisted of numerous multi-platform sports titles, along with new entries in long-established franchises.
These are the top selling games of September 2015:
- NBA 2K16 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Madden NFL 16 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- FIFA 16 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Destiny: The Taken King (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
- Disney Infinity 3.0 (PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Mad Max (PS4, Xbox One)
- NHL 16 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Minecraft (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
Clearly, September was the month of sports games, with NBA 2K16, Madden NFL 16, and FIFA 16 all earning top spots. NHL 16 didn't have quite as strong sales as its peers - with the backlash from last year's barebones entry in the series possibly to blame - but it still managed to beat out the NPD mainstay Minecraft.
Sports games and other multiplatform titles dominated the sales charts, as is to be expected, but it's still a bit surprising that Super Mario Maker is the only exclusive game to crack the top 10. After all, Microsoft launched the excellent racing simulator Forza Motorsport 6 (read our review) exclusively for the Xbox One in September, and Until Dawn proved to be a surprise hit for Sony in August, so it's surprising to see it drop off the charts already.
What's not surprising to see is the Star Wars focused Disney Infinity 3.0 on the list, even though Disney Infinity 2.0 under-performed compared to the first game. Star Wars fans hyped for The Force Awakens and parents shopping for the holidays will ensure that Disney Infinity 3.0 remains at the top of the charts over the next few months, and it wouldn't be a stretch to expect the game to set new sales records for the toys-to-life series.
While sports games dominated September's sales, don't expect quite a clean sweep when October's sales numbers are revealed. Madden and NBA will most likely still sell very well, but they face stiff competition in the form of Halo 5: Guardians and Assassin's Creed Syndicate, the two games we expect to take the top spots in October.
Did you pick up any new games this past month?
Source: Game Informer