Historical U.S. sales recap: NPD’s November 2018 tracking period ran November 4 through December 1, 2018. The rankings below are by dollar sales, not units sold.
Red Dead Redemption II topped the month’s game chart, while Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! placed fifth and sixth. Overall U.S. video-game spending was $2.693 billion, essentially unchanged from November 2017.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 PS4 Brand New Factory Sealed | $23.80 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Red Dead Redemption 2 (XBox One) | $25.16 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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X1 RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 | $26.24 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Red Dead Redemption - PlayStation 4 | $24.39 | Buy on Amazon |
How much did the U.S. video-game market spend?
The NPD Group reported $2.693 billion in U.S. spending on hardware, software, accessories and game cards during the four weeks from November 4 through December 1, 2018. That was down slightly from $2.706 billion in November 2017; the report rounded the year-over-year change to 0%.
| Category | November 2018 | November 2017 | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total video-game spending | $2.693 billion | $2.706 billion | 0% (rounded) |
| Hardware | $1.182 billion | $1.147 billion | Up 3% |
| PC and video-game software | $1.008 billion | $1.188 billion | Down 15% |
| Accessories and game cards | $503 million | $371 million | Up 35% |
These are NPD’s reported U.S. dollar-sales figures for November 2018, reproduced in AFJV’s analysis table. The categories moved in different directions: hardware and accessories/game cards grew, while PC and console software fell.
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- From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption
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- Covers a huge range of 19th century American landscapes
- Play as Arthur Morgan, lead enforcer in the notorious Van der Linde gang
- Interact with every character in the world with more than just your gun;Engage in conversation with people you meet. Your actions influence Arthur's honour;Horses are a cowboy's best friend, both transport and personal companion;Bond with your horse as you ride together to unlock new abilities
Why software spending fell
NPD analyst Mat Piscatella attributed the software decline chiefly to the Call of Duty release moving from November in 2017 to October in 2018. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 still ranked second in November 2018, so the year-over-year explanation is about launch timing and the comparison period—not evidence that the game sold poorly.
Year-to-date context
Through November 2018, U.S. video-game spending reached $13.214 billion, up 16% from $11.378 billion over the comparable 2017 period. Year-to-date PC and console software spending was $5.849 billion, up 9%, according to the same NPD figures reproduced by AFJV.
What were the best-selling games in November 2018?
The ranking is by dollar sales in the United States for the November tracking period. It combines physical sales with full-game digital sales reported by publishers participating in NPD’s Digital Leader Panel. Nintendo did not report first-party digital sales, and Activision Blizzard’s Battle.net PC digital sales were also missing from the chart.
Rank #2
- From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption
- The deepest and most complex world Rockstar Games has ever created. 4K Ultra HD not available on Xbox One or Xbox One S consoles
- Covers a huge range of 19th century American landscapes
- Play as Arthur Morgan, lead enforcer in the notorious Van der Linde gang
- Interact with every character in the world with more than just your gun
| Rank | Game |
|---|---|
| 1 | Red Dead Redemption II |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (Black Ops 4) |
| 3 | Battlefield V |
| 4 | Fallout 76 |
| 5 | Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! |
| 6 | Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! |
| 7 | NBA 2K19 |
| 8 | Madden NFL 19 |
| 9 | Spyro Reignited Trilogy |
| 10 | FIFA 19 |
| 11 | Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey |
| 12 | Super Mario Party |
| 13 | Marvel’s Spider-Man |
| 14 | Mario Kart 8 |
| 15 | WWE 2K19 |
| 16 | God of War (2018) |
| 17 | Shadow of the Tomb Raider |
| 18 | Just Dance 2019 |
| 19 | Grand Theft Auto V |
| 20 | Forza Horizon 4 |
The full list and coverage notes appear in AFJV’s reproduction of the NPD analysis. Because the chart is based on dollar sales and has gaps in digital reporting, it should not be read as a complete unit-sales leaderboard or as a fully comprehensive digital-sales comparison.
Why Red Dead Redemption II led the chart
Released October 26, 2018, Red Dead Redemption II remained the best-selling game in the November tracking period. Piscatella described it as the best-selling game of November and the second best-selling game year-to-date. After two months on the market, its reported dollar sales had exceeded the previous Red Dead game’s lifetime sales by nearly 40%, according to NPD. That comparison is about dollar sales, not copies sold.
The monthly and year-to-date rankings answer different questions: Red Dead Redemption II led November, but Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ranked ahead of it year-to-date.
Rank #3
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How strong was Pokémon: Let’s Go’s debut?
Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! ranked fifth and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! ranked sixth in November. Piscatella said Pikachu’s launch-month sales were second only to Pokémon Stadium’s launch in March 2000. The reported Nintendo totals included physical sales only because Nintendo-published digital sales were not reported to NPD.
The two games were listed separately. Any claim that their combined sales would have earned a different chart position is hypothetical; NPD did not publish a combined rank.
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Other notable results in the top 20
- Fallout 76 placed fourth. Bethesda digital sales were missing from the reported chart. Its physical launch-month sales ranked third among Fallout games, behind Fallout 4 and Fallout: New Vegas.
- Spyro Reignited Trilogy ranked ninth. Its launch-month dollar sales were more than 30% above the combined launch-month sales of previous Spyro games, excluding Skylanders.
- God of War returned to the monthly top 20 at number 16.
These are specific launch-month or chart observations from the NPD discussion reproduced by AFJV; they do not establish lifetime sales totals.
Rank #4
- When federal agents threaten his family, former outlaw John Marston is forced to hunt down the gang of criminals he once called friends.
- Experience Marston’s journey across the sprawling expanses of the American West and Mexico as he fights to bury his blood-stained past in the critically acclaimed adventure.
- Also included is Undead Nightmare, the ground-breaking horror story expansion that transforms the world of Red Dead Redemption into an apocalyptic fight for survival against a zombie horde.
- Experience the epic western adventures that defined a generation
Which consoles led hardware sales?
Nintendo Switch led November hardware dollar sales, while PlayStation 4 led hardware dollar sales year-to-date. NPD also reported that Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One each sold more than 1.3 million units during the November period. The console unit figure is a separate hardware measure; it does not change the software chart’s dollar-sales rankings.
GamesBeat’s December 18, 2018 report, updated June 20, 2025, provides contemporary context for the results and quotes Piscatella’s explanation of the market movement: GamesBeat’s November 2018 NPD coverage.
Quick Recap
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