NPD: 2019 Is a Record Year for Fighting Game Sales

Still, Modern Warfare dominated October and the year.

News by Mathew Olson Reporter

Updated on Nov. 15, 2019

This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.

The big news out of October is that Call of Duty, once again, has come out on top. NPD's video game sales report for last month confirms that Modern Warfare has already become the best selling game of 2019 so far, and kept the Call of Duty's chart topping in its release month streak alive for a twelfth year running.

Call of Duty's continued dominance isn't the only takeaway from October, though. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella highlights two other intriguing stats: First, driven largely by Mortal Kombat 11's dominant performance in late Spring and steady sales of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, 2019 has broken the previous record for year-to-date fighting game sales.

US NPD SW - Year-to-date sales of fighting genre games are at an all-time high, with genre sales 11 percent higher than the previous year-to-date high set in 2015. Both Mortal Kombat 11 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have significantly contributed to that success. pic.twitter.com/P5aUUr5XrQ
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) November 14, 2019

Second, the PlayStation 4 is now the third fastest-selling home console of all time behind the Wii and PlayStation 2. Just last month, the PlayStation 4 crossed 102.8 million units sold, putting it in second place on the list of all-time best selling consoles.

Here's the top 10 for October, sorted by console and ordered first through tenth: