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Splatoon 2 and Switch help push growth across all categories in July NPD as Nintendo absolutely dominates

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News by Brenna Hillier Contributor
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We had a good month, everyone. Miracles will never cease.

Splatoon 2 was the absolute master of July 2017, managing to top the NPD Group's combined software charts for the month despite releasing on just one very new console - and without the benefit of digital sales date.

This would be a tremendous achievement in any month but is extra notable because July 2017 saw year-on-year growth across all spending categories.

The NPD credited this bumper month to Splatoon 2, continuing sales of Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, fresh Switch hardware supplies and continued vivacity from the PS4.

Nintendo dominant

As well as topping the combined software chart with Splatoon 2, Nintendo managed two further top ten entries with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in fifth and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in eighth.

This result made it the bestselling software publisher of July 2017. Again, that's all without digital sales data.

The Switch itself is the primary cause of year-on-year growth in the hardware category, the NPD said, and was this month's bestselling hardware - although the PS4 is still top year-to-date.

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NPD software charts July 2017

The NPD has some interesting things to point out in the software charts this month. Apparently RPG sales have grown over 50% year-on-year for 2017 to date, buoyed by titles like Horizon Zero Dawn, Nier: Automata, Persona 5, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.

In fighters, Injustice 2 is still selling strongly, but Tekken 2 has absolutely tanked after one lively month at the top.

Despite all the other stuff going on, military and quasi-military shooters still reign supreme. The NPD noted Call of Duty was responsible for three of the games in the combined software top 20 sales chart - Modern Warfare Remastered, Black Ops 3 and Infinite Warfare. Call of Duty remains the bestselling video game franchise for the 12 months to date, and Infinite Warfare is the best selling games.

If you want to look at calendar 2017 only, though, Ghost Recon: Wildlands is dominant. Ubisoft is the bestselling publisher of the calendar year to date, too.

Check out this month's charts below. You may notice the NPD has ditched the Vita from its former combined portable chart and gone with a dedicated 3DS chart.

Items marked with an asterisk do not include digital data, so performed even better than the charts indicate. Items marked with a double asterisk do not include digital sales through Battle.net.

    Top 20 combined software

  1. Splatoon 2*
  2. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
  3. Grand Theft Auto 5
  4. Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age
  5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  6. Injustice 2
  7. Mario Kart 8*
  8. Overwatch**
  9. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
  10. NBA 2K17
  11. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  12. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
  13. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
  14. Minecraft
  15. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
  16. MLB 17: The Show
  17. ARMS*
  18. Battlefield 1
  19. Mass Effect: Andromeda
  20. Tekken 7

    PlayStation 4 top 10 software

  1. Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
  2. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
  3. Grand Theft Auto 5
  4. Injustice 2
  5. MLB 17: The Show
  6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
  7. Horizon Zero Dawn
  8. Overwatch**
  9. NBA 2K17
  10. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands

    Xbox One top 10 software

  1. Grand Theft Auto 5
  2. Injustice 2
  3. Overwatch**
  4. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
  5. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  6. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
  7. Minecraft
  8. Forza Horizon 3
  9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
  10. NBA 2K17

    Nintendo Switch

  1. Splatoon 2*
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  3. Mario Kart 8*
  4. ARMS*
  5. 1-2 Switch*
  6. Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers*
  7. Lego City Undercover*
  8. Cars 3: Driven to Win*
  9. Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star*
  10. Just Dance 2017*

    Nintendo 3DS

  1. Pokemon: Sun*
  2. Miitopia*
  3. Super Smash Bros.*
  4. Pokemon: Moon*
  5. Super Mario Maker*
  6. Hey! Pikmin*
  7. Mario Kart 7*
  8. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia*
  9. Ever Oasis*
  10. Mario Sports Superstars*

    Top 10 best-selling games of 2017 to date

  1. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  3. For Honor
  4. Grand Theft Auto 5
  5. Horizon Zero Dawn
  6. Injustice 2
  7. Mass Effect: Andromeda
  8. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
  9. NBA 2K17
  10. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

    Top 10 best-selling games over the last 12 months

  1. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
  2. Battlefield 1
  3. NBA 2K17
  4. Madden NFL 17
  5. Grand Theft Auto 5
  6. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  7. FIFA 17
  8. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  9. Final Fantasy 15
  10. For Honor

nintendo_switch_2

General figures: July 2017 NPD

Total industry spend grew 19% year-on-year in July 2017 to $588 million.

Hardware enjoyed the most significant upward trend with a 29% year-on-year spike to $182 million.

Software was up across the board. Console software grew 17% year-on-year to $263 million, while tracked PC software was bumped 14% year-on-year to $14 million. That's a total of $277 million all up in tracked software sales.

Even accessories enjoyed a nice upward graph with a 9% year-on-year spike to $129 million. Interactive toys are still down year-on-year despite new Amiibo releases, but they're not nosediving as hard as they have been in the past. Switch and Xbox One game pad sales are up significantly, accounting for this spike.

As ever, the NPD Group's data represents the US market only and does not account for some digital revenues, used sales, non-traditional retailers, rentals, subscriptions and microtransactions.

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