Video games, as an industry, generates more revenue than movies and music combined. If you're not aware of how important, significant, ubiquitous, and monumental gaming has been recently, you're just not paying attention. In fact, since theaters shut down, concerts have been canceled, and TV production had to be halted, game and console sales have hit record numbers.
It's unprecedented (not to overuse that word during a global pandemic) for gaming consoles to be so old in their lifecycles and to sell so well, in the same year that new consoles are releasing. The Sony ($SNE) PlayStation 4 and Microsoft ($MSFT) Xbox One are old in the tooth, and their successors are launching this holiday season. The Nintendo ($TYO:7974) Switch is sold out everywhere and keeps selling out. So clearly people want more games to play and a new console to play them on, either out of boredom, curiosity, or just sheer enthusiasm.
May might also be another record-breaking month, but all we can show within our data is how well things sold on the best-sellers rankings of GameStop ($GME) and Amazon ($AMZN). The Amazon list highlights what games sold the best during the month, and GameStop shoppers are showing which consoles they prefer to buy in-store and online (which has led to console shortages all over the world).
Amazon
|
Name |
Category Rank (Avg) |
Platform |
|---|---|---|
|
Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
2.1 |
Nintendo Switch |
|
The Last of Us Part 2 |
5.6 |
PlayStation 4 |
|
Battlefield 4 [Online Game Code] |
10.9 |
Various |
|
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |
11.2 |
Nintendo Switch |
|
Paper Mario: The Origami King |
13 |
Nintendo Switch |
|
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition |
13.5 |
Nintendo Switch |
|
Battlefield 1 [Online Game Code] |
15 |
Various |
|
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate |
16.6 |
Nintendo Switch |
|
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 [Online Game Code] |
19 | Various |
|
Just Dance 2020 |
22.1 | Nintendo Switch |
|
God of War |
22.8 | PlayStation 4 |
|
Battlefield 1 Revolution And Titanfall 2 Ultimate Edition Bundle [Online Game Code] |
23.5 | Various |
| FIFA 20 | 25.2 | PlayStation 4 |
| Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | 25.2 | Nintendo Switch |
It's no surprise that 2020's #1 best-selling game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, is still on the top. Nintendo Switch games, especially the most popular ones, will be necessary purchases as more and more people get new Switch consoles, no matter how old the games might be.
It's also not shocking to see highly anticipated summer releases (The Last of Us Part II, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Paper Mario: The Origami King) do well in pre-orders. What might jump out is that three different Battlefield games made the list; it turns out, these classic shooters were a part of a big sale, and the digital codes were clearly the preferred option for customers looking for a deal.
GameStop
|
Name |
Category Rank (Avg) |
|---|---|
|
PlayStation 4 Black 500GB |
32.4 |
|
PlayStation 4 Slim Black 1TB |
35.6 |
|
Nintendo Switch Lite Gray |
37 |
|
Sony New DualShock 4 Black Wireless Controller |
37.3 |
|
PlayStation Store Gift Card $50 |
40 |
|
Nintendo Switch Lite Turquoise |
42.7 |
|
PlayStation 4 External Game Drive 4TB |
43.5 |
|
PlayStation VR Marvel's Iron Man VR Bundle |
46.5 |
|
Microsoft Xbox One Phantom Magenta Special Edition Wireless Controller |
47 |
|
FINAL FANTASY VII Remake Deluxe Edition |
51.5 |
|
Nintendo Switch Lite Gray with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe System Bundle |
52.9 |
For GameStop, controllers, consoles, and bundles dominated the gaming-only chain's top-50 items. It wasn't until #51 did we find an actual video game on the best-seller list, which shows just how many people prefer to download their games digitally instead of a boxed physical game. Discs are out, digital is in.
And for the consoles, Microsoft got left in the dust. Their Xbox One was already the third-place console on the market, behind the PlayStation 4 and Switch. It's a great thing this console generation is over, and hopefully, they can get a restart on things with the Xbox Series X against the PlayStation 5 later this year.
Both lists have been edited to remove duplicate listings, gift cards, accessories, and other non-game items. Both lists had a cutoff: a minimum of 28 days on the best-sellers list. Some games were number 1 for a day or two, but then fell off, and that doesn't accurately represent what sold the best during the month.
The best-sellers lists are based on sales-rank data reported by both companies every day throughout the month. In this case, we looked just at the "Video Games" category, averaged each product's sales rank for the year, and then weighted based on the number of days each product remained a best-seller.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.