December NPD numbers are in, and Call of Duty continues its sales dominance into the final month of 2015, while also securing the title of best selling game of the year.
NPD numbers are in, and after a few “down” years, the Call of Duty franchise is back on top in more ways than one.
First off, December sales numbers reveal that Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 was the best selling software for the period. That shouldn’t come as much of surprise; Activision and Treyarch’s latest has been at the top of the charts since its debut, and it has been one of the most attractive games available for holiday shoppers.
However, the more impressive achievement for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is its dominance over all 2015 titles, including those released much earlier in the year. With December now complete, the NPD can confidently name Black Ops 3 the best selling game of the past year.
For those curious, other games to top the 2015 overall list include Madden NFL 16, Fallout 4, and Star Wars Battlefront. All three were big sellers in the latter part of the year, with Fallout 4 riding a huge wave of anticipation into its November release. Even so, Fallout 4 was unable to eclipse the perennial all stars that are Call of Duty and Madden.
And in keeping with the sports theme, NBA 2K16 and FIFA 16 joined Madden to make the overall sales list. It just goes to show that regardless of whether there are big changes, small changes, or no changes - sports games are big sellers for the year.
But perhaps the most impressive title to make the list for December and 2015 overall is Minecraft, which continues its sales dominance despite releasing several years ago. While it’s not surprising to see a prior release like Grand Theft Auto 5 on the list thanks to its current-gen and PC ports, Minecraft is already all over the place. And yet it continues to sell extremely well.
Check out the full 2015 sales list below, followed by the December 2015 list:
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
- Madden NFL 16
- Fallout 4
- Star Wars Battlefront 2015
- Grand Theft Auto V
- NBA 2K16
- Minecraft
- Mortal Kombat X
- FIFA 16
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
- Star Wars Battlefront 2015
- Fallout 4
- Madden NFL 16
- NBA 2K16
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
- Minecraft
- Minecraft: Story Mode
- FIFA 16
Overall, it was another banner year for video games. Both the PS4 and Xbox One continue to sell very well, with sales increasing 48% when compared to last year. That’s likely because old-gen consoles sales took their biggest hit - a 53% decrease year-over-year - proving that consumers are finally ready to make the transition.
With that, December 2015 was also the best sales month for current-gen releases thus far, and 2015 was the overall best sales month for current-gen sales. Needless to say, if you’re in the video game business there is plenty to be happy about.
Which of the best selling games from 2015 did you buy? Are you surprised by any of the games on either list?
Source: VG 24/7