In terms of content quality and quantity, the optics for Marvel’s Avengers are hit or miss at present. However, that didn’t stop the superhero game from dominating the sales charts during its launch month in the US. Marvel’s Avengers outperformed all other releases in September, topping the NPD charts ahead of other new titles, such as Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Tony’s Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. Marvel’s latest success story also makes it the second highest launch for a superhero game in terms of dollar sales in US history. Only Marvel’s Spider-Man bests the Avengers-centric adventure in this regard.
Marvel’s Avengers didn’t experience the only success of note last month. US gaming-related sales across the board experienced incredible year-on-year growth. According to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, sales of games, hardware, and accessories roped in a whopping $4.3 billion dollars in September. That’s a 10 percent increase compared to the same period in September 2019. Piscatella broke down all of the above and more in a Twitter thread, which begins with the following post:
September 2020 US NPD THREAD – Consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories reached $4.3 billion in September 2020, 10% higher than a year ago. Mobile, hardware and accessories were among the largest growth segments. https://t.co/sDVmDsp1wB
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 16, 2020
No doubt this growth was greatly influenced by a series of brand-new releases last month. In addition to Marvel’s Avengers, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, NBA 2K21, Crusader Kings, Star Wars: Squadrons, and Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time all debuted in September. All fared well in terms of sales, too. The THPS remake debuted at number four, NBA 2K21 was close behind at number five, and Crash Bandicoot 4 barely missed the top 10, landing at 11 on the NPD charts.
The complete list of top 20 best-sellers in the US for the month of September 2020 is as follows, courtesy of Piscatella:
Marvel’s Avengers has already secured itself a spot among the year’s best-selling titles in the US, too. It currently sits at seven on the list of 2020’s highest sellers to date, which includes:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- The Last of Us: Part II
- Madden NFL 21
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Final Fantasy VII: Remake
- Marvel’s Avengers
- Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
- MLB: The Show 20
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars
Marvel’s Avengers is out now for the PS4, PC, and Xbox One. A free next-gen update won’t arrive until 2021, but PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players can still experience the game via backward compatibility next month.
[Source: NPD, Mat Piscatella on Twitter]
