One of the largest market research groups in the world, NPD Group, has released its report on video games sales in the United States. As of their latest reports, Madden and NBA 2K were among the ten most sold games in 2018.

NPD Group 2018 Analysis

2018 was an outstanding year for the video game industry as a whole, as the U.S. gaming industry made $43.4 billion in sales, which is the most earned revenue for the industry in a single year. Hardware revenue was at $7.5 billion USD, and software revenue hit $35.8 billion this past year. This data was gathered based on not just full physical data, but also from partial digital data obtained from participating retailers.

A big winner in 2018 was Nintendo, who not only was the highest software revenue generator in the year, but also placed three Switch-exclusive games in the Top 10 for December 2018. (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Party and Pokemon Let’s Go! Pikachu). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate hit the top spot last month and was the fifth-most sold game last year.

As aforementioned, Madden and NBA 2K were among the best selling games last year. During the busy month of December, NBA 2K19 and Madden 19 were in the Top 10 for sales, coming in at #5 and #7 respectively.

Here’s the full list for December 2018:

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate^
2. Red Dead Redemption II
3. Call of Duty Black Ops 4*
4. Battlefield V*
5. NBA 2K19
6. Mario Kart 8^
7. Madden NFL 19*
8. Super Mario Party^
9. Pokemon Let’s Go! Pikachu^
10. Marvel’s Spider-Man

As for the whole year, Madden 19 was the fourth-best selling game throughout 2018, while NBA 2K19 was the third-most sold game. Red Dead Redemption II was the most-sold game of 2018, while Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 came in at #2.

Here is the full list for the most sold games of 2018:

1. Red Dead Redemption II
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4*
3. NBA 2K19
4. Madden NFL 19*
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate^
6. Marvel’s Spider-Man
7. Far Cry 5
8. God of War
9. Monster Hunter: World
10. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

*-PC sales not included

^-Digital sales not included

Can Madden and 2K move up next year?

The strong sales for Madden and NBA 2K should come to no surprise, and it’s quite possible that both could move up in the ranks thanks to the rise in popularity of eSports. With Madden‘s Club Championship Series gaining momentum and the NBA 2K League entering its second season this year, those two elements could lead to increased interest in the products, and thus more sales.

What do you think about the rankings? What games do you think will make it into the rankings next year? Let us know in the comments section below.

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