March 2020 NPD — MLB: The Show 20 is the best-seller on PS4, third-highest sales for the month

Mlb The Show 20 Title Screen
Mlb The Show 20 Title Screen (Image credit: Android Central)

What you need to know

  • The March 2020 NPD results have been released.
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the best-selling game of the month.
  • MLB: The Show 20 was the best-selling game on PS4.

Every month, the NPD Group releases information on the top-selling games across all video game platforms in the United States. While it doesn't account for worldwide sales, it does provide a good snapshot of one the largest video game markets. Mat Piscatella, an analyst for NPD, has shared the results for March 2020.

To start off, Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold amazingly well, taking the best-seller position for the month. Meanwhile, MLB: The Show 20 was the best-selling game on PS4 and debuted at the #3 spot. While the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console for the month, PS4 sales were up year-over-year.

As always, remember that NPD is based on dollar sales, not units sold.

Here are the March 2020 results:

  • Total sales: $1.1597 billion, up 35% from $1.186 billion year-over-year.
  • Video games hardware: $461 million, up 63% from $282 million year-over-year.
  • PC and video games software: $739 million, up 34% from $550 million year-over-year.
  • Accessories and game cards: $397 million, up 12% from $354 million year-over-year.

March 2020 NPD: Here are the top 20 games sold in the U.S.

  1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
  2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  3. MLB: The Show 20
  4. Resident Evil 3
  5. NBA 2K20
  6. Doom Eternal*
  7. Persona 5: Royal
  8. Grand Theft Auto V
  9. Borderlands 3
  10. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
  11. Nioh 2
  12. Red Dead Redemption II
  13. FIFA 20
  14. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
  15. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX*
  16. Madden NFL 20
  17. Just Dance 2020
  18. Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
  19. Mortal Kombat 11
  20. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Remastered
  • *Does not include digital sales
  • **Does not include Steam sales
  • ***Minecraft digital sales include Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but not other digital sales.

Here are the best-selling games of March 2020 by platform:

PlayStation 4

  1. MLB: The Show 20
  2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  3. Persona 5: Royal
  4. Resident Evil 3
  5. NBA 2K20
  6. Nioh 2
  7. Doom Eternal*
  8. Grand Theft Auto V
  9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Remastered
  10. FIFA 20

Xbox One

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  2. Resident Evil 3
  3. Doom Eternal*
  4. NBA 2K20
  5. Grand Theft Auto V
  6. Madden NFL 20
  7. Red Dead Redemption II
  8. Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
  9. FIFA 20
  10. Minecraft: Xbox One Edition

Nintendo Switch

  1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
  2. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
  3. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
  4. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX*
  5. Just Dance 2020
  6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  7. Super Mario Party*
  8. Luigi's Mansion 3*
  9. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
  10. Pokemon: Sword*

Here are the top 10 best-selling games of 2020 in the U.S. so far:

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
  3. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
  4. NBA 2K20
  5. MLB: The Show 20
  6. Grand Theft Auto V
  7. Resident Evil 3
  8. Madden NFL 20
  9. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
  10. Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order

That's all for the breakdown of this month's numbers. For more information, you can consult Mat Piscatella's thread right here. If you'd like details on last month's NPD breakdown, you can find that right here.

Samuel Tolbert

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on PlayStation on Android Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert