December 2019 NPD has Call of Duty: Modern Warfare take the top again, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order grabs second place
What you need to know
- The December 2019 NPD report has been released.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was the bestselling game of the month and on PlayStation 4.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was the second-bestselling game of the month.
- You can grab Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on PlayStation 4 for $47 on Amazon.
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 December 2019. For this month, data was tracked from December 1, 2019 through January 4, 2020.
For the month of December, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare took the top spot overall for the the third month in a row. Meanwhile, Respawn's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order took the second spot. The PlayStation timed console exclusive Death Stranding fell out of the top 20 overall. The Nintendo Switch was the bestselling console of the month however, the PlayStation 4 is the bestselling hardware of the decade overall. The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 was the bestselling accessory of the month.
Here are the numbers for the December 2019 NPD results:
- Total: $2.984 billion, down 19% from $3.494 billion year-over-year
- Video games hardware: $973 million, down 17% from $1.168 billion year-over-year
- PC and video games software: $1.141 billion, down 13% from $1.314 billion year-over-year
- Accessories and game cards: $869 million, down 14% from $1.012 billion year-over-year
Here are the December 2019 game sales rankings (based on dollar sales, not units):
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Madden NFL 20
- NBA 2K20
- Luigi's Mansion 3*
- Pokemon Sword*
- Mario Kart 8*
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Pokemon Shield*
- Minecraft**
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Red Dead Redemption II
- FIFA 20
- Just Dance 2020
- Need for Speed: Heat
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening*
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
- Super Mario Party*
- Ring Fit Adventure
- *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 December 2019 by platform:
PlayStation 4
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Madden NFL 20
- NBA 2K20
- Need for Speed: Heat
- Grand Theft Auto V
- FIFA 20
- Death Stranding
- Marvel's Spider-Man
- The Outer Worlds
Xbox One
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- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Madden NFL 20
- NBA 2K20
- Grand Theft Auto V
- FIFA 20
- Borderlands 3
- Need for Speed: Heat
- Red Dead Redemption II
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
Nintendo Switch
- Luigi's Mansion 3*
- Pokemon Sword*
- Mario Kart 8*
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Pokemon Shield*
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening*
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
- Super Mario Party*
- Ring Fit Adventure
Here are the best-selling games of 2019:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
- NBA 2K20
- Madden NFL 20
- Borderlands 3
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Tom Clancy's The Division 2
- Mario Kart 8*
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.
Next level combat
Warfare is Modern again
Developed by Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare takes the concept of modern combat and reapplies it, with familiar characters in unfamiliar situations.
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