NPD releases top-selling fighting games of this generation where NetherRealm dominates while Street Fighter and Tekken are absent
No Killer Instinct either
This current console generation is close to coming to an end with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett due for release a year from now, but the Xbox One and especially PlayStation 4 helped shepard in the follow up to the return of fighting games from the prior decade.
The NPD Group, which tracks video game hardware and software sales in the United States, has released the top-selling 'head to head fighting games' to appear on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch this whole generation with some interesting results — namely how dominant Mortal Kombat and Dragon Ball are.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is now the best-selling fighting game of all time with over 15 million units sold, so it's not surprising to see it top the Switch chart — even without digital sales — though NetherRealm Studios titles would make up the bulk of the other charts.
Mortal Kombat X tops both the PS4 and Xbox rankings, as it stands as NRS's best-selling title ever at around 11 million units sold after all was said and done.
The fighting games being looked at here span the entire lifespan of each console (up until October 2019). This means the analysis goes back as far as November 2013 for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and back to March 2017 for the Nintendo Switch.
While NetherRealm Studios titles, Dragon Ball Z, and Smash Bros. make strong appearances on these charts, fighting game mainstays such as Street Fighter, Tekken, and even Killer Instinct are absent.
Though titles such a Street Fighter 5 and Tekken 7 have been doing quite well for themselves, Mortal Kombat and Super Smash Bros. have been really making waves. Back in May, Mortal Kombat 11 was the highest-selling game of 2019, and was the second best-selling Mortal Kombat game behind Mortal Kombat X's impressive roughly 11 million units sold back in August.
As for Dragon Ball FighterZ, Bandai Namco / Arc System Works' 3v3 fighting title surpassed 4 million units shipped by the end of March 2019. At that same time, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 had shipped over 5 million, meaning FighterZ has since gone on to surpass its not so distant relative.
Despite their absence from these charts, Street Fighter 5 and Tekken 7 have performed solidly for this generation. Street Fighter 5 currently sits at 3.9 million units sold, while it was announced that Tekken 7 had sold over 4 million back in July.
To check out the best-selling fighting games of the current console generation, click the image below.
Note: These rankings are based on dollar sales / money made and not purely how many individual copies were sold to retailers / consumers.
Click images for larger versions
