NPD December 2014: Wii U Finally Has Big Month

Each month industry experts are given a report that details all of the consoles and software numbers sold from physical retail brick-and-mortar stores within the United States, which are then reported on by sites privileged with that sort of information. They are published from the NPD group, with this month’s numbers reporting for NPD December 2014.

Top 10 most sold physical software titles in the US, according to NPD December 2014 numbers (bracket order=most-to-least sold version):

1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, PC)
2. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3)
3. Madden NFL 15 (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
4. Super Smash Bros. (Wii U, 3DS)
5. NBA 2K15 (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, PC)
6. Minecraft (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4)
7. Far Cry 4 (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. Just Dance 2015 (Wii, Xbox 360, Wii U, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
9. Destiny (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3)
10. FIFA 15 (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Wii, 3DS, Vita)

Additional information comes from a variety of sources outside of the NPD, including Xbox’s Major NelsonNelson, who confirms that the Xbox One outsold the competition throughout November and December in the US. Not only did they sell the most hardware during the holiday months, but they sold the most software, too. 2014 also saw the Xbox 360 become the best-selling 7th-gen console in the US market, surpassing the Wii and the PS3. Sony PR confirmed that the PS4 was the best-selling console in 2014, both US and globally.

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But, in comparatively shocking news, the Wii U had a big month this December. According to NPD, they sold more units this month in the US than any other month in the console’s lifetime, according to a press release. Plus, this year saw a 29% increase in hardware sales and a 75% increase in software sales compared to this time a year ago, in 2013. The Nintendo 3DS’ year wasn’t too shabby, either, as 16 of their titles sold at least 250,000 units. 8 of those 16 sold more than 500,000 and 3 sold more than a million units. Plus, the top 15 best-selling handheld titles all belonged to the Nintendo 3DS, which is quite indicative of the Vita’s value in the US (read: any) market.

What isn’t shocking is that mutliplatform games involving guns and sports do well. While it is rather shocking for Destiny to drop to 9th this month (and just under Just Dance 2015), something has to be said about the tenacity of Minecraft and its ability to stay in the Top 10 month after month. With most units being sold on either the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One, perhaps that $2 billion buyout was a smart move after all.

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