NPD: Shadow of War, Assassin’s Creed, and Mario lead October game sales

October was probably the busiest month for video games this year. Sure, Call of Duty and Star Wars didn't come out until this month but there was multiple major games dropping each week last month! We were bombarded by developers with some of the highest rated games this year such as Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Super Mario Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Origins, Shadow of War, and many more.

The NPD report for October 2017 has finally been released so let's see what games managed to make the biggest waves. The biggest surprises come in the form of Assassin's Creed and Mario as they released in the final week of October, giving it little time to make an impact in sales. Mario was the third highest selling game in October and that doesn't even include digital sales which were likely substantial given the fact Super Mario Odyssey was the first title you could pre-load on Nintendo Switch.

Aside from Mario, Nintendo held down the top twenty with a couple of Nintendo Switch games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Bethesda bet big in October and ultimately failed to really make a dent in terms of sales despite both The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein II being critically praised. Neither game managed to crack the top ten but the NPD didn't include digital sales for those two titles so it may have been a bigger success than we are being lead to believe.

Grand Theft Auto V got knocked back to number twelve spot after holding its own in the top ten spot consistently for over four years, becoming the best selling game of all-time in the United States. The game could rise back up during the holiday season but it's hard to say since over 80 million gamers already own Rockstar's crime epic.

Sports titles managed to dominate as always with new arrivals like NBA, FIFA, WWE, and Madden taking up most of the second half of the top ten. Five sports games charted within the top twenty, three of which are EA titles.

Ubisoft also managed to push a lot of games into the hands of consumers with four of their games making up the top twenty best selling games of October 2017.

Overall

1. Middle-earth: Shadow of War
2. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
3. Super Mario Odyssey**
4. South Park: The Fractured But Whole
5. NBA 2K18
6. FIFA 18
7. WWE 2K18
8. Madden NFL 18
9. Destiny 2*
10. Forza Motorsport 7
11. Gran Turismo Sport
12. Grand Theft Auto V
13. The Evil Within 2**
14. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus**
15. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild**
16. Mario Kart 8**
17. Fire Emblem: Warriors**
18. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
19. NHL 18
20. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege

Here are the top ten best selling games across all three of the major platforms. The Evil Within 2 did manage to sneak in at the tenth spot on PlayStation 4.

Xbox One

1. Middle-earth: Shadow of War
2. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
3. Forza Motorsport 7
4. South Park: The Fractured But Whole
5. NBA 2K18
6. FIFA 18
7. Destiny 2
8. WWE 2K18
9. Madden NFL 18
10. Grand Theft Auto V

PlayStation 4

1. Middle-earth: Shadow of War
2. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
3. South Park: The Fractured But Whole
4. NBA 2K18
5. FIFA 18
6. Gran Turismo Sport
7. WWE 2K18
8. Madden NFL 18
9. Destiny 2
10. The Evil Within 2**

Nintendo Switch

1. Super Mario Odyssey
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3. Mario Kart 8
4. Fire Emblem: Warriors
5. Pokken Tournament DX
6. Splatoon 2
7. Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
8. FIFA 18
9. NBA 2K18
10. Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2

You can also check out the best selling games of 2017 so far where Grand Theft Auto V impressively holds the sixth spot. There is also the top ten best selling games since October 2016 where GTA V once again holds on tight to a spot in the top five.

The best-selling games of 2017 so far

1. Destiny 2*
2. NBA 2K18
3. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
4. Madden NFL 18
5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild**
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. For Honor
8. Horizon Zero Dawn
9. Injustice 2
10. Mario Kart 8

The best-selling games over the last 12 months

1. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
2. Destiny 2*
3. Battlefield 1
4. Grand Theft Auto V
5. NBA 2K18
6. NBA 2K17
7. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
8. Madden NFL 18
9. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild**
10. Final Fantasy XV

Nintendo managed to crush the competition in terms of hardware sales in October with the release of the SNES Classic and selling more Nintendo Switch units thanks to Super Mario Odyssey's release.

[VentureBeat]