October 2018 NPD: Call of Duty still outperforms Red Dead Redemption II

In the United States, gaming consumers spent $ 1.545 billion in October, according to industry monitoring firm The NPD Group. This is up from last year and it's no surprise that two of the biggest games of 2018 started this month.

"In October 2018, hardware, software, accessories, and video game card expenses increased 73 percent over last year to $ 1.5 billion," said the report. NDP analyst, Mat Piscatella. "All expense categories reflected growth, with sales of video game and video game software more than doubling from October 2017."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption II were the main drivers of this growth. And Piscatella notes that their combined power has broken some of the NDP records.

"The $ 1.55 billion dollar sales in October 2018 represent the highest total expenditure of the month of October since NPD Group began tracking the sector in 1995," said Piscatella. "The previous record was $ 1.36 billion reached in October 2008."

Here are the numbers for October:

• Total: $ 1.545 billion (up 73% from $ 894 million in October 2017)
• Equipment: $ 300 million (up 26% from $ 238 million)
• PC and console software: $ 965 million (up 104% from $ 473 million)
• Accessories: $ 280 million (up 54% from $ 182 million)

This is how 2018 compares so far 2017 in terms of cumulative dollar sales:

• Total: $ 10.52 billion (up 21% from $ 8.67 billion recorded in 2017 since the beginning of the year)
• Equipment: $ 2.72 billion (up 19% from $ 2.29 billion)
• PC and console software: $ 4.84 billion (up 16% from $ 4.18 billion)
• Accessories: $ 2.96 billion (up 35% from $ 2.19 billion)

Let's see the graphics of the software.

The best-selling games of October 2018 in the United States

NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but also obtains digital data directly from publishers. But not all companies participate. For example, Nintendo does not share its sales with third parties and Activision Blizzard does not provide its sales on Battle.net.

These charts are sorted by dollar of sale and not by number of units sold.

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII **
2. Red Dead Redemption II
3. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
4. NBA 2K19
5. Super Mario evening *
6. Soul Calibur VI
7. FIFA 19 **
8. Marvel's Spider-Man
9. Madden NFL 19 **
10. WWE 2K19
11. Forza Horizon 4
12. Lego DC Super Villains
13. The justice of my hero
14. Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
15. Mario Kart 8 *
16. Grand Theft Auto V
17. Super Mario Odyssey *
18. Diablo III **
19. The legend of Zelda: the breath of nature *
20. NHL 19

* Does not include digital sales.
** Does not include digital sales on PC.

"Dollar sales of console, handheld games and PC games totaled $ 965 million in October 2018, more than double the amount of last year," said Piscatella. "This represents an all-time record for spending on PC and video game gaming software in October. The previous record of $ 743 million was reached in October 2008. "

And yes, you can rake in the bulk of those sales at Call of Duty from October and at Red Dead Redemption II. These games have in fact supercharged the industry totals for the year.

"Since the beginning of the year, dollar sales of console, notebook and PC gaming software reached $ 4.8 billion, up 16% from a year ago. "said Piscatella. "This is the highest cumulative total of software expenditures since the $ 5.3 billion made in the comparable period up to 2011".

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Activision wanted to release its latest Call of Duty before the normal November release date, and that does not seem to have hurt sales.

"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is the best selling game of October," said Piscatella. "Call of Duty: Dollar sales in the Black Ops 4 launch month represent the 8th highest in the history of video games since the NPD Group started tracking in 1995. Black Ops 4 instantly becomes the game the Best seller of the year and the second bestseller in the last twelve months, having only exceeded Call of Duty: WWII. "

Red Dead Redemption II

Red Dead came out later in the month than Call of Duty, but it was long enough to affect the charts of October and 2018.

"With just nine days of declared sales, Red Dead Redemption 2 is the second best selling game from October 2018 and is also the second best selling game of the year," said Piscatella. "Sales of the launch month of Red Dead Redemption 2 have more than tripled from the previous title of the series, Red Dead Redemption, launched in May 2010."

And the success of Call of Duty and Red Dead means a lot of money for the publishers Activision Blizzard and Take-Two Interactive, respectively.

"Activision Blizzard was the first revenue-generating publisher for the month of October, while Take-Two Interactive achieved the highest total revenue to date," said Piscatella.

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

He may have made his debut in the previous month, but he kept enough momentum to finish top of the standings. Ubisoft games continue to have legs.

"Assassin's Creed: Odyssey repeated its success of September," said Piscatella. "Once again ranked as the third best-selling game of the month."

Super Mario Party

Speaking of legs, that's why Nintendo games are known. And Super Mario Party is part of this trend.

"Super Mario Party is rising in the charts this month to rank fifth in October sales after its debut in September placing it in ninth place in the rankings," said Piscatella. "In the first two months of each title on the market, Super Mario Party is now the third-best selling Mario Party game in history, behind Mario Party and Mario Party 8."

Soul Calibur VI

Bandai Namco returned to his Soul Calibur fighting franchise, and the game had a respectable start.

"Soul Calibur VI debuts as the sixth best-selling game of October," said Piscatella. "Soul Calibur VI achieved the third dollar turnover of the franchise's launch month in the history followed, surpassing only Soul Calibur IV and Soul Calibur II."

Top 10 best games sold so far this year

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 **
2. Red Dead Redemption II
3. Far Cry 5
4. Marvel's Spider-Man
5. NBA 2K19
6. God of War 2018
7. Monster Hunter: World
8. Madden NFL 19 **
9. Grand Theft Auto V
10. Call of Duty: Second World War **

PS4

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
2. Red Dead Redemption II
3. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
4. Marvel's Spider-Man
5. Soul Calibur VI
6. NBA 2K19
7. FIFA 19
8. WWE 2K19
9. Madden NFL 19
10. The justice of my hero

Xbox One

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
2. Red Dead Redemption II
3. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
4. Forza Horizon 4
5. NBA 2K19
6. Madden NFL 19
7. FIFA 19
8. WWE 2K19
9. Soul Calibur VI
10. Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

Switch

1. Super Mario Party
2. Mario Kart 8
3. Super Mario Odyssey
4. The legend of Zelda: the breath of nature
5. Diablo III
6. Starlink: Battle For Atlas
7. Dark Souls remastered
8. The world ends with you: Final Remix
9. Lego DC Super Villains
10. The justice of my hero

Hardware and accessories

The PlayStation 4 was the best-selling equipment in October, according to NPD. You can read more about console performance in October here. But overall, the situation is rosy.

"For the period from 2018 to date, spending on computer equipment has increased 19% to $ 2.7 billion," said Piscatella. "The cost savings for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Plug N Play devices such as NES Classic Edition and SNES Classic Edition continue to drive growth."

As for accessories, growth has been consistent with the rest of the year. People are buying even more headphones and gift cards in foreign currency than ever before.

"Total spending on props and gaming cards increased by 54% in October 2018 compared to last year, reaching a record $ 280 million," said Piscatella. "Since the beginning of the year, spending on props and gaming cards has increased 35 per cent over last year to $ 3 billion. It's also an all-time record, surpassing the $ 2.2 billion generated since the beginning of 2017. "

Basically, people want to talk to their friends while playing Fortnite and other online games. This has turned into a huge boom for companies like Turtle Beach.

"Consumer spending on helmets and helmets doubled in October compared to last year," said Piscatella. "While Gamepad expenses have gone up by 63%. Turtle Beach was the first manufacturer of headphones and earphones for the month of October, while Sony was at the forefront of Gamepads manufacturers.

"Since the beginning of the year, consumer spending on headphones and earphones has increased 87% over last year, while Gamepad spending has increased 31%."