Astral Chain Was One Of The Best-Selling Games Of August In The United States

I'm sad it was so low tbh. Hopefully it will chart well next month too or even better.

How, in the name of all that is good, is GTA V still in top 5? I know its profitable, I know its pretty good, I know Take Two is milking it for all its worth, but like, it's still beating games that I consider to be far better than it, like BotW, RDR2, SSBU, and Spider-Man.

Can't believe Madden took the top spot. I mean I know the USA loves football but it's sad so many people bought that regurgitated garbage.

@Spoony_Tech It had 2 days of tracked sales in the month propped up entirely by Nintendo sales.

@AxeltheCorvikni I wouldn’t call it garbage just because you think it’s the same game every year (even though it is) and because American’s love sports. That’s kind of a crappy thing to say, tbh.

"...software sales falling to their lowest since 1998"

So basically, everything sold awful.

Yikes, control, a multiplat didn't even crack the top 20.

Guys keep in mind Astral Chain litterally launched at the very end of August. Meanwhile all the other games had a full 31 days of sales to track

Nintendo needs urgently a deliver simulator

How many times does one buy GTA V? I don't even double-dip often, so it's kinda hard to process.

An overall decent showing for Ninty in the US last month. I do wish there were weekly results like in the UK and Japan.

@sweth_t Just think to yourself how many adults you know in your life who know what GTA is and have either watched footage of it, have watched someone else play it, or have played it themselves.

Now ask yourself the same question about any of the other games you listed. GTA is such a household name at this point that it wouldn't surprise me 50% of all people buying an Xbox or PS4 in 2019 also end up picking up GTA. The only other franchises I can think of that are as well known would be Call of Duty or Mario, and Mario has none of the political sticking power that the aforementioned have.

I can quite vividly imagine a dad in his late 30s who is completely outside of the gaming ecosystem walking into an electronics store to buy a coffee machine, spotting a PS4 + Madden combo on sale, picking it up because, well, he likes Madden, and also noticing GTA on the shelf thinking to himself "oh, I have a bunch of friends who have played that, I might give it a try". I can't imagine that same situation happening NEARLY as frequently for any other franchise.

Digital sales are on the rise, so while sales may have dipped below 1998 at retail, it doesn’t necessarily mean game sales were bad.

Fire Emblem did the best of Switch titles but Astral Chain gets the headline. I see how it is.

@sweth_t The cynic in me says it's because people in the US love murder simulators.

But honestly it's just because it's on everything BUT the Switch and they keep releasing more in-game content for it, plus GTA is probably one of the most recognizable video game IPs around.

@AxeltheCorvikni the chart says it includes digital sales- I know Amazon, GameStop, and I think even Best Buy we’re giving copies away with new console sales for weeks.

@Heavyarms55 yeah, it is so that Fire Emblem is a July game, while Astral Chain is an August one, just like the chart.

@AxeltheCorvikni I say the same thing about Fifa

@AnnoyingFrenzy and I'd say the same about Pokémon (although it's not usually annual).

@Spoony_Tech it got to the top ten with exactly 2 days on the market
It is quite impressive

It has to be a great seller because it has been rather hard to find. Great job Platinum!

Astral Chain hitting the top ten despite only being on the market in August for two days is pretty good. Also nice to see plenty of Nintendo titles in the top 20. 👍

@Ryu_Niiyama
It was also the top seller on the E-Shop at one point. Hopefully this game will easily clear the 1 mil mark.

@Agramonte
No, everything did not sell awful.

The issues is that Madden 20 released in (late) July rather than in August like it usually does. Given that Madden usually sells close to a million copies during its launch week in the US, it singlehandedly propped up July's numbers but depressed August's numbers as a result.

Crazy for Astral Chain for 1 or 2 days of the month and without digital.

Fire Emblem is killing it too.

@Daldra That happens when console versions of your game have serious problems with FPS.

Platinum deserves a successful new IP!

I'm not sure on what planet it was decided that it was a good idea to effectively abandon PS4 at its height, tell everyone to wait for PS5 in 2 years, and then wonder why the industry is tanking when the industry leader packed up and went home to their cave. MS tried to go strong, but knowing they're pushing new hardware that will be backward compatible when all the current games that will play better on it will be cheaper when it launches. That really leaves Nintendo as the only truly active market in gaming right now.

@electrolite77
Seems like Remedy made the smart decision to take Epic's money - they'd be in deep trouble otherwise.

Nintendo dominating the NPD list isn't surprising as not much is going on for PS4 and XB1. Both Sony and Microsoft are pretty much all about next gen preparation at this point so only big sales (see Sony's Days of Play sale in June) would make a difference.

@KraniX I see no problem with that. I mean, I like Pokemon a lot and will undoubtedly end up buying Sword at some point, but if you don't like it and can't get into what makes other people love it, all the more power to you.

I am so happy for Astral Chain.

I'm just amazed how strong a showing Nintendo has in that list! And one more thing NFL ≠ Football

@westman98 People like me that just wanted Madden had to wait till August 2nd. Only 1 day of the "regular" release was included in July. Also not the first time madden in July has happened. Obviously nothing else on that list helped in the slightest.

@Agramonte
It doesn't matter what "normal" people do.

There are close to 1 million people in the US out there who buy Madden in Week 1. A lot of them will experience FOMO and buy the expensive Superstar Edition on Day 1 in July. That will cause a large amount of Madden revenue to shift from August to July.

No Madden game up until this year's entry has released in July.