The best-selling video game list for November released by market research company NPD group contains few surprises, as Activision’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare sits at the top followed by its rival Battlefield 1, while The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is still in the top sellers list, taking the number 9 spot and proving that Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls franchise remains as popular as ever.
After all, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is a remastered version of Skyrim, a 2011 role-playing video game which was very popular back in the day, having sold more than 20 million copies to date. So it is not surprising that gamers still have a desire to play this Elder Scrolls game, even if it’s a remastered edition of the original game that includes all the DLC, but no new content.
Of course, it should come as no surprise to see Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare top the list, as Activision’s Call of Duty games have been sales leaders in the holiday season for the last couple of years. Although it’s been revealed that this year’s Call of Duty has sold 50 % less than 2015’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III, meaning it could be argued that the series might be losing its magic touch.
It can’t be denied, though, that this year’s Call of Duty is an attractive package, especially the game’s Legacy Edition which includes the pretty good remaster of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, one of the best Call of Duty games made to date.
And number 2 on the list is Battlefield 1, this year’s top alternative to Call of Duty and another superb military shooter thanks to its engaging multiplayer and interesting single player campaign.
Of course, it can be argued that the big winner in November has been Nintendo, as both its recent Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon have made the list at number 3 and 4 respectively, proving that this year’s Pokémon craze, which began with Pokémon Go’s launch last June, has benefitted Nintendo enormously. Players worldwide have eagerly picked up both Sun and Moon, also proving that the 3DS handheld is still a strong platform for video games.
Also worth a mention is Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 2 which has entered the NPD list at number 8, as this was a game for which players did not high hopes for after the original turned out to be a disappointment for many, but surprisingly the sequel has ended up becoming one of the year’s best games on consoles.
It must also be taken into account that this NPD list takes retail sales into account, but only digital sales from participating retailers, although it should still give gamers a clear idea of which games are the most demanded by video game fans this holiday season, in what’s undoubtedly been a year that has seen plenty of great video games to date.
Here follows the NPD top 10 sales chart for November:
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
- Battlefield 1
- Pokémon Sun*
- Pokémon Moon*
- Titanfall 2
- NBA 2K17
- Madden NFL 17
- Watch Dogs 2
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim*
- FIFA 17
* Note: No digital sales were taken into account for this game.