July 2020 NPD — Paper Mario: The Origami King makes a strong debut

What you need to know

• The NPD Group shares data on video game sales in North America every month.
• For July 2020, Ghost of Tsushima was the best-selling game per NPD.
• Paper Mario: The Origami King was the third best-selling game for the month of July.
• The Nintendo Swich was the best-selling console for the month.

Every month, the NPD Group releases information on the best-selling games, game consoles and accessories across all video game platforms in the United States. While it doesn't account for total worldwide sales, it does provide a nice look at one of the largest video game markets. Mat Piscatella, a fantastic analyst for NPD, has shared the results for July 2020.

For the month of July, Ghost of Tsushima was the best-selling game and is Sucker Punch Productions' fastest-selling title ever. Paper Mario: The Origami King was the third best-selling title for the month, while The Last of Us Part 2 held strong at the #4 position. With the next generation of consoles coming in the form of the PS5 and Xbox Series X this holiday, it should be no surprise that the Nintendo Switch was again the best-selling console for July 2020.

The he Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller was the best-selling accessory for the month and is the best-selling accessory for the year so far.

There's an important change in the reporting this month. Video Game Software has been reclassified as Video Game Content, which includes game sales, DLC and microtransactions. Like always, it's important to remember that NPD is based on dollar sales, not units sold.

Here are the July 2020 results:

• Total sales: $3.58 billion, up 32% year-over-year.
• Video game content: $3.3 billion, up 34% year-over-year.
• Video games hardware: $166 million, down 2% year-over-year
• Video game accessories and game cards: $170 million, up 34% year-over-year.

July 2020 NPD: Here are the top 20 games sold in the U.S.

1. Ghost of Tsushima
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
3. Paper Mario: The Origami King*
4. The Last of Us Part 2
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
6. Ring Fit Adventure
7. Mortal Kombat 11
8. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*
9. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
10. Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris
11. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
12. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
13. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
14. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
15. MLB: The Show 20
16. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
17. Need for Speed: Heat
18. Marvel's Spider-Man
19. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
20. Call of Duty: Black Ops III

• *Does not include digital Nintendo eShop sales

Here are the best-selling games of July 2020 by platform:

1. Paper Mario: The Origami King*
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
3. Ring Fit Adventure
4. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
7. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
8. Super Mario Odyssey*
9. Super Mario Party*
10. Pokémon Sword

1. Ghost of Tsushima
2. The Last of Us Part 2
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
4. Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
5. MLB: The Show 20
6. Mortal Kombat 11
7. Marvel's Spider-Man
8. Need for Speed: Heat
9. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
10. Sword Art Online: Alicyzation Lycoris

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. Mortal Kombat 11
3. Sword Art Online: Alicyzation Lycoris
4. Minecraft: Xbox One Edition
5. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint
6. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
7. Forza Horizon 4
8. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
9. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Here are the top 10 best-selling games of 2020 in the U.S. so far:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
3. The Last of Us Part 2
4. Final Fantasy 7 Remake
5. Ghost of Tsushima
6. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
7. MLB: The Show 20
8. Resident Evil 3
9. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*
10. Mortal Kombat 11

That's all for this month. As always, you can check Mat Piscatella's thread for more information, or compare these results with the previous month's sales.