August wasn't the best month for the video game industry in America, with software sales falling to their lowest since 1998 according to NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella. Despite this, Nintendo still had a good run and the Switch was once again the best-selling hardware system as well as the only platform with sales gains in both August and the year-to-date. It remains the best-selling system of 2019 within the US.

In terms of the best-selling games of the month, five of these games were exclusive to the Switch. This included Astral Chain, which made it into 10th spot after just a few days on the market. It was also the only new release in the top ten. Fire Emblem: Three Houses was the best-selling Nintendo game during this period overall, placing fourth. And Madden NFL 20 by Electronic Arts took out the top spot.

Other Nintendo exclusives that made it into the top ten during the month of August included Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Maker 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Just outside of this bracket was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 12th spot. And towards the bottom of the top 20 was Super Mario Party, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.

On the 3DS front, Pokémon Ultra Sun was the best-selling game on this platform, followed by Pokémon Ultra Moon.

Are you at all surprised to hear Astral Chain has done so well in such a short period of time? Leave a comment below.