'NBA 2K20' only needed one month to become the best-selling game of 2019

"NBA 2K20"/2K Games

• "NBA 2K20" became the best-selling game of the year during its first month on the shelves, according to data from the NPD Group.
• September was a strong month for sports video games, with four sports titles among the top 10 best-sellers.
• Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening" and Microsoft's "Gears 5" were also among September's best-sellers as console exclusives.
• The Nintendo Switch has led the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in console sales for 10 straight months, and the Switch recently surpassed 15 million sales in North America.
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The NBA season is still days away and the league has been dealing with an international scandal in China, but that hasn't stopped fans from making "NBA 2K20" the best-selling game of the year so far.

Published by Take Two Interactive, "NBA 2K20" had the biggest launch of any sports video game ever, according to data from the NPD Group. The "NBA 2K" series is now the sixth best-selling video game franchise in history, passing "Guitar Hero." Three more sports games made by Electronic Arts were among the top 10 best-selling games in September: "FIFA 20," "Madden 20," and "NHL 20."

"NBA 2K20" launched on September 5 and it's just one of several high-profile September releases that are set to dominate the holiday season. Take Two's co-op shooter "Borderlands 3" had the second biggest launch of the month, overcoming a bit of controversy involving the developer's CEO and the decision to make the game exclusive to the newly launched Epic Games Store for PC players.

"The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening" was the fourth best-selling title as a Nintendo Switch exclusive, and Microsoft's "Gears 5" the seventh best-selling game, despite being included with Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

The Nintendo Switch continues to dominate video game hardware sales. Nintendo recently announced that it has sold more than 15 million Switch consoles in North America, and the Switch has outsold the older Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles for 10 straight months.

Nintendo released the $200 Switch lite on September 20, a small portable-only version of the Switch that's $100 cheaper. Microsoft and Sony are both preparing to launch their next consoles during the 2020 holiday season.

These were the top 10 best-selling games of September, according to the NPD Group: