NPD Group reports a 21-year low for August game sales

Dollar sales of US video games in August 2019 slumped to their lowest total in an August month since 1998, according to data from market research firm the NPD Group.

Monthly software sales fell 24% year-over-year to $257 million, although year-to-date dollar sales remain up 1% at $3.1 billion, driven by Switch games.

Madden NFL 20 – currently the third best-selling game of 2019 – held the No.1 spot on the monthly chart, ahead of Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V, while Astral Chain was the only new release to make the top 10.

Hardware spending in August 2019 fell 22% year-over-year to $167 million.

With Xbox One and PS4 sales in decline ahead of the arrival of next-gen consoles, year-to-date hardware spending is down 21% year-over-year to $1.6 billion, with Switch the only platform to record year-on-year growth.

Combined hardware, software and accessory sales in August 2019 were $666 million, down 18% from August 2018. Year-to-date consumer spending on gaming products is down 6% year-over-year to $7 billion.