Video games are one way that leagues keep themselves top of mind throughout the year -- even during offseasons. So which sport saw its title perform well recently?
Madden NFL 24 was the only sports entry to crack the top 10 best-selling video games for February, per the March monthly sales report from tracking firm Circana. Madden finished No. 6 overall (dropping a spot from January). But just reading the chart doesn’t tell the full story, even in a month notorious for lower sports games sales, noted Circana Executive Director/Video Games Mat Piscatella.
“It's pretty safe to assume that were NBA 2K digital sales included for chart purposes, two sports games would be in the top 10 this year,” Piscatella said, as 2K Sports publisher Take-Two doesn’t report digital sales to Circana.
It was a strong month for Madden NFL. Piscatella said that it “had the highest dollar sales for a football sim game in a February month in the U.S. market since NFL Street in February 2004.”
EA Sports FC 24 came in 12th after slotting in at No. 8 in January. Last year, EA’s soccer game, FIFA 23, placed in the top 10 in February for the first time, setting a record high for sales for a soccer sim for that month. “EA FC 24 is down this February compared to that record number last year, but [it] still ranks among the top-five February months for a soccer sim game in the U.S. Of course, it is February, so we're not talking huge dollars for a soccer sim game, whether leading or trailing this pack.”
The sports game market should see a lift in March’s report with the debut of MLB: The Show 24 and WWE 2K24. MLB debuted last March at No. 3, while WWE 2K24 launched at No. 4.
