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October NPD: Nintendo Switch & Super Mario Odyssey Shine, Wolfenstein Falters

October was a great month for Nintendo. Not so much for Bethesda.

Ozzie Mejia

November 16, 2017 5:25 PM

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The October NPD report has brought some early holiday joy to console hardware manufacturers and most game developers. Nintendo has come out of the month as the big winners. The Nintendo Switch has come out of the month as the best-selling console, ahead of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This is despite the console remaining a hard-to-find commodity. Hardware sales are up year-to-year from last October, mainly on the strength of the Switch.

Software-wise, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor tops the physical sales list for the month of October. However, with only the final five days of the month on the market, both Assassin's Creed Origins and Super Mario Odyssey came in fierce, finishing at the #2 and #3 slots respectively. Odyssey's place on the list, in particular, is a jaw-dropper, given its place as a console exclusive. It is the third-best launch for a Mario game in the company's history, behind New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy, both of which released on the Wii to its historically massive install base. Ubisoft also has plenty to celebrate, with Origins and South Park: The Fractured But Whole taking the #2 and #4 spots, respectively.

October proved to be a strong month for sports games, with NBA 2K18, FIFA 18, WWE 2K18, and Madden NFL 18 taking up the #5 through #8 slots. According to the NPD Group, racing game sales are also up year-to-year, thanks to Forze Motorsport 7 and Gran Turismo Sport.

As for Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, I'd like to shine a spotlight on this tweet:

I really want to see how Wolfenstein's doing, sales-wise. Because that game is precisely what a lot of gamers are demanding: no MTX, no unlock schemes, nothing-as-a-service. Just a strong, solid, gorgeous, incredible game.

I bet it's tanking.

— Aaron Linde (@aaronlinde) November 13, 2017

With that in mind, Wolfenstein II finished out of the top 10 entirely, lagging in at the #14 spot. October was a disappointing month for Bethesda, as a whole. Its other high-profile title, The Evil Within, finished just ahead of Wolfenstein at #13.

October 2017 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales; new releases in bold

• Middle Earth: Shadow of War (Warner Bros. Interactive)
• Assassin's Creed: Origins (Ubisoft)
• Super Mario Odyssey** (Nintendo)
• South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Ubisoft)
• NBA 2K18
• FIFA 18
• WWE 2K18
• Madden NFL 18
• Destiny 2**
• Forza Motorsport 7
• Gran Turismo Sport
• Grand Theft Auto V
• The Evil Within 2**
• Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus**
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild**
• Mario Kart 8**
• Fire Emblem: Warriors**
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands
• NHL 18
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege

(** - Digital sales not included in ranking)

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?