The Best-Selling Games And Consoles Of September 2019 (US Only)

The NPD Group has released its report for September 2019, revealing which games and consoles sold the best during the month in the United States. The report also provides an update on the overall health of the gaming industry–and September 2019 was harsh.

All categories–hardware, software, accessories, and game cards–experienced declines in sales. In total, spending across all sectors reached $1.278 billion, which is down eight percent year-over-year. On a year-to-date basis, total spending in all categories fell six percent to $8.3 billion. Drop-offs on hardware spending drove the decline, the NPD said.

This is expected given that the PS4 and Xbox One are in the end-stages of their lifecycles, with next-generation consoles from both Sony and Microsoft expected in Holiday 2020.

Moving to games specifically, NBA 2K20 was September’s best-selling title in the US. Its first-month sales were the highest for any sports game in history; the previous record-holder was NBA 2K19. Again, this list covers only the United States, where FIFA–a chart-topper in Europe and other parts of the world–is not as popular.

Also notable for the NBA 2K series is that, with September’s sales accounted for, the NBA 2K franchise passes Guitar Hero to become the sixth-biggest gaming franchise of all time in the US based on dollar sales.

Another big release in September was Borderlands 3, and it finished No. 2 behind NBA 2K20. Its launch-month sales represent a new first-month sales record for the franchise in the US. Globally, Borderlands 3 shipped five million copies in its first five days to become 2K’s fastest-selling game ever.

Coming in at No. 17 for September was the new Plants vs. Zombies game, Battle for Neighborville. It doesn’t officially release until October 18, but players who buy the Founder’s Pack can get in now, which explains why a game that hasn’t officially released landing on the charts.

Total dollar sales on video games in the US during September fell four percent to $732 million. The Xbox One and Nintendo Switch saw growth in games sales during September, but PS4 game sales slid. That drop-off was to be expected, given Sony’s blockbuster hit Spider-Man launched in September 2018.

Moving to hardware, the Switch was the best-selling console of September–it’s been on top now for months. It is also the best-selling console of 2019 overall.

Despite the strong Switch sales, total spending on consoles fell 22 percent to $240 million. The Switch was the only console to post sales gains in September and for the entire year so far in 2019.

Spending on accessories and game cards, meanwhile, dropped seven percent to $306 million.

The industry still has time to turn things around in 2019, as a number of big new releases are coming up, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (October 25) and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (November 15). There is also the Black Friday shopping bonanza that leads into the holiday shopping season where games should fly off shelves and help improve the fortunes of the industry.

September 2019 Best-Selling Games

1. NBA 2K20
2. Borderlands 3
3. FIFA 20
4. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening*
5. Madden NFL 20
6. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
7. Gears 5^
8. Code Vein
9. NHL 20
10. Mario Kart 8*
11. Minecraft#
12. Grand Theft Auto V
13. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
14. Spyro Reignited Trilogy
15. Red Dead Redemption II
16. Rainbow Six Siege
17. Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
18. Spider-Man
19. Catherine
20. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*

• *Digital sales not included
• ^Steam digital sales not included
• #Digital sales on PS4 and Xbox One not included