August NPD: Madden 15, PS4 score top honors

Madden NFL 15 was the software leader in August, surprising a record-breaking no one. According to the NPD results, Madden's sophomore effort on the latest batch of consoles faired better on the PS4 versus all other platforms. The latest console release of Diablo 3 landed second on the new physical retail sales list, with Minecraft for Xbox 360 and PS3 rounding out the third spot.

Compared to the same reported period last year, however, software sales of new games for the month were on the decline due to fewer big ticket launches. In August 2013, a handful of anticipated titles arrived in stores and online, including Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Saints Row IV and Disney Infinity. Overall, new physical retail sales of hardware, software and accessories "increased by 8 percent in August 2014 over August 2013 and followed a similar pattern of prior months with explosive hardware growth driven by eighth generation consoles offsetting declines in software," NPD analyst Liam Callahan said.

"Deep declines in seventh generation software [X360, PS3, Wii] of 57 percent were not offset by growth in eighth generation software, leading to a net decrease of console software sales of $47 million," he added.

Hardware sales grew over the same reported period last year "by an over 200 percent increase in console hardware sales" thanks to the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U. According to a statement from Sony, "PlayStation 4 was [number one] in hardware sales for the eighth consecutive month and remains the cumulative leader for next generation game consoles."

August 2014 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC)

1. Madden NFL 15 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)

2. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)

3. Minecraft (360, PS3)

4. The Last of Us (PS4, PS3)

5. Call Of Duty: Ghosts (360, XBO, PS4, PS3, PC, NWU)

6. Lego Marvel Super Heroes (360, PS3, NWU, PS4, 3DS, NDS, XBO, PSV, PC)

7. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare (360, PS3, PS4, XBO)

8. Watch Dogs (PS4, 360, PS3, XBO, PC)

9. Battlefield 4 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, PC)

10. The LEGO Movie Videogame (360, 3DS, PS3, NWU, PS4, XBO, PSV)