August 2019 NPD: Madden NFL 20 retains the lead, Minecraft shows up strong

What you need to know

• The August 2019 NPD data has been released.
• For this month, Madden NFL 20 retained the #1 spot on PlayStation 4 and for the month overall.
• The Nintendo Switch was the bestselling console overall.
• Madden NFL 20 is $51 on Amazon for PlayStation 4.

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 August 2019. For this month, data was tracked from August 4 through August 31, 2019.

This month is interesting, to say the least. It wasn't particularly strong in sales, as Piscatella notes that it is the lowest sales for the month of August since 1998. Madden NFL 20 again took the #1 spot, while Minecraft had a very strong month and made the #position. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan made it to #19, while Control did not make the top 20 in its debut month. For PlayStation 4 exclusives, Marvel's Spider-Man did well and made the #11 spot. The Nintendo Switch was (again) the bestselling console for the month, as well as naturally being the bestselling console of the year so far.

Here are the numbers for the August 2019 NPD results:

• Total: $666 million, down 18% year-over-year
• Video games hardware: $167 million, down 22% year-over-year
• PC & video games software: $257 million, down 24% year-over-year
• Accessories and game cards: $242 million, down 6% year-over-year

Here are the August 2019 game sales rankings (based on dollar sales, not units):

1. Madden NFL 20**
2. Minecraft***
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Fire Emblem: Three Houses*
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
6. Super Mario Maker 2*
7. Mario Kart 8*
8. Mortal Kombat 11
9. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
10. Astral Chain*
11. Marvel's Spider-Man
12. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
13. Red Dead Redemption II
14. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII**
15. Age of Wonders: Planetfall
16. Super Mario Party*
17. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order*
18. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
19. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan
20. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

• *Does not include digital sales
• **Does not include PC digital sales
• ***Minecraft digital sales include Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but not other digital sales.

Here are the best-selling games of August 2019 by platform:

PlayStation 4:

1. Madden NFL 20
2. Minecraft
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Marvel's Spider-Man
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII
6. Mortal Kombat 11
7. Red Dead Redemption II
8. Days Gone
9. MLB 19: The Show
10. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege

Xbox One:

1. Madden NFL 20
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Minecraft
4. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
5. Red Dead Redemption II
6. Mortal Kombat 11
7. Forza Horizon 4
8. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
9. Overwatch
10. Tom Clancy's The Division 2

Nintendo Switch:

1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses*
2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
3. Super Mario Maker 2*
4. Mario Kart 8*
5. Astral Chain*
6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
7. Super Mario Party*
8. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order*
9. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
10. Minecraft*

Here are the best-selling games of 2019 year-to-date:

1. Mortal Kombat 11
2. Kingdom Hearts III
3. Madden NFL 20**
4. Tom Clancy's The Division 2**
5. Anthem**
6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
7. Resident Evil 2 2019
8. Grand Theft Auto V
9. Red Dead Redemption II
10. Days Gone

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.