The video game industry is much like the movie business, which relies heavily on sequels and established franchises to fill its coffers. Of the Top 10 video game titles for 2015 ranked by The NPD Group, eight are franchises and the remaining two are established IPs (Microsoft’s Minecraft and EA’s Star Wars). The list resembles more of the old boy’s club than had in 2014, where two original games made their way onto the list (Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs and Activision’s Destiny).
Ranking: The NPD Group | ||||||||||||
Rank | Game | System | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC | ||||||||||
2 | Madden NFL 16 | PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3 | ||||||||||
3 | Fallout 4 | PS4, Xbox One, PC | ||||||||||
4 | Star Wars: Battlefront | Xbox One, PS4, PC | ||||||||||
5 | Grand Theft Auto V | PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC | ||||||||||
6 | NBA 2K16 | PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3 | ||||||||||
7 | Minecraft | 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 | ||||||||||
8 | FIFA 16 | PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3 | ||||||||||
9 | Mortal Kombat X | PS4, Xbox One | ||||||||||
10 | Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC |
The most significant reason for the large drop in retail sales in previous years was the slump caused by the mobile game app Angry Birds—which is expected to enjoy a spike in retail sales in 2016 thanks to the new animated film, set to hit theaters May 20, 2016.