August 2020 NPD: EA Sports Lands a One-Two Combo on US Game Charts

In the game

While it may feel like the quality of EA Sports’ output has taken a nosedive, its sales are not exactly hurting, as the publisher has landed a one-two punch on the US sales charts for August 2020. Madden NFL 21 was ranked the best-selling title by dollar sales, with EA Sports UFC 4 sitting closely behind in second place – what are you going to do? Consumers coughed up $3.3 billion across the industry overall, which is up an impressive 37 per cent year-over-year.

Despite receiving a bit of a critical and consumer mauling, Madden NFL 21 enjoyed “double-digit percentage dollar sales growth when compared to the release month of Madden NFL 20”, which in layman terms means it did much, much better than last year’s game. Clearly the coronavirus pandemic is having an impact, but that’s still an unexpected result in our opinion. EA Sports UFC 4 also set a new record for mixed martial arts games from the publisher.

Elsewhere, the excellent Ghost of Tsushima continued to sell strongly, finishing up in fourth position, while golf simulation PGA Tour 2K21 debuted in 14th place. Much of the rest of the chart is dominated by Nintendo games, as the Switch continues to outpace its competition by breaking records. Final Fantasy VII Remake did enjoy a resurgence on the back of some big promotions, including a sizeable discount on the PlayStation Store. All of the relevant data is included below.

NPD Software Top 20: August 2020

1. Madden NFL 21
2. EA Sports UFC 4
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
4. Ghost of Tsushima
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
6. Ring Fit Adventure
7. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
8. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
9. Paper Mario: The Origami King*
10. Mortal Kombat 11
11. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
12. The Last of Us: Part 2
13. Minecraft: PS4 Edition
14. PGA Tour 2K21*
15. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
16. Super Mario Party*
17. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
18. Super Mario Odyssey*
19. Final Fantasy VII Remake
20. Luigi's Mansion 3

NPD PS4 Software: August 2020

1. Madden NFL 21
2. Ghost of Tsushima
3. EA Sports UFC 4
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
5. The Last of Us: Part 2
6. Minecraft: PS4 Edition
7. Final Fantasy VII Remake
8. MLB The Show 20
9. Marvel's Spider-Man
10. PGA Tour 2K21*

NPD Best Selling Games of 2020 So Far

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
3. The Last of Us: Part 2
4. Final Fantasy VII Remake
5. Ghost of Tsushima
6. Madden NFL 21
7. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
8. MLB The Show 20
9. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
10. Mortal Kombat 11

* Digital sales not included

[source venturebeat.com]