Quick hit takes from Nov NPD: PS4 led the month in Units, but did face some out of stocks, esp during BF. Switch did great, big growth in Units and Dollars, Xbox One sales levels were also strong, helped by promotional efforts. All 3 did very well.
I was hoping to see stronger results from the PSVR bundling and promotion efforts, hopefully momentum can accelerate in Dec. Spyro, Fallout 76, God of War were my big SW surprises.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2 are quite close in YTD sales. I still see Red Dead Redemption 2 ending as the year's best-seller, but I think it will remain very close. How next year will comp to this I've no idea, because these games are generating big $.
I think PlayStation 4 and Switch hardware will also have a close race to end as the year's best-selling. Right now, I'm thinking PlayStation 4 ends the year with the Unit lead, but Switch the Dollar. December will be very interesting, obviously. Again, hardware doing great.
The software charts are getting more top heavy. The biggest titles continue to perform at all-time high levels, while the titles off the charts are performing below historical benchmarks. Absolutely critical to be part of the zeitgeist.
People are treating games as social hangouts more and more, and the games that do the best job of facilitating that are doing exceptionally well.
But overall, a great month, and year so far, for the total market, and for both b&m and digital retailers.
