NPD: NCAA Football and 3DS rise to the top in July

Overall, industry is down 19% from 2012

Thursday was NPD day, a day of celebration and / or commiseration throughout the US gaming industry. The big winners in terms of hardware and software were 3DS and NCAA Football 14. This marks the third straight month that 3DS has been in the top position, and as for NCAA… well… it’s an American football game selling to an American audience. It’s spot was secured.

For the industry overall, total sales were $443 million, a drop of 19% from last July. 3DS hardware shrugged off this slump by increasing 14%, hitting roughly 141K units. 3DS software climbed 45% from last July, thanks chiefly to Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which sold another 150K across digital and retail to hit 660K total in the US. Other US lifetime numbers include Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (820K) and New Super Mario Bros. U (830K).

The best selling home console was Xbox 360 at 107K units. It’s big exclusive was the retail edition of Minecraft, which continues to hang around near the top like it lives there. Just below Minecraft is PS3’s golden child, The Last of Us. Along with Animal Crossing, they represent the only platform-exclusive software in the top 10.

The list below combines SKUs, but if you were to break it down by single platforms, three other games would find their way into the top 10: Shin Megami Tensei IV, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, and the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition.

Top 10 software chart (SKUs combined)

1. NCAA Football 14 (360, PS3)
2. Minecraft (360)
3. The Last of Us (PS3)
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
5. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
6. Far Cry 3 (360, PS3, PC)
7. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
8. Injustice: Gods Among Us (360, PS3, Wii U)
9. NBA 2K13 (360, PS3 ,Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
10. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (360, Wii, DS, PS3, 3DS, Wii U, Vita, PC)

July 2013 NPD: Animal Crossing is officially a system seller [GamesBeat via NeoGAF]