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December NPD: Xbox One leads month, PS4 'cumulative leader' in next-gen war

Xav de Matos
Updated ·3 min read
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Total video game sales for the US in December were up slightly by 2 percent year-over-year, up $3.28B from $3.21B in 2012. Hardware also saw an upswing in 2013, up 28 percent to $1.37B versus the month of December 2012. Continued strong sales of both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 accounted for a hardware sales increase of "over 50 percent compared to December 2012."

"December NPD Group figures released today revealed Xbox One was the number one selling console in the market in the U.S., selling 908,000 units in December. Additionally, Xbox 360 continued to see strong momentum with 643,000 units sold in December, putting it in the number three spot overall, and lead for last generation hardware," a prepared statement on Microsoft's press site reads.

Sony's approach to numbers was slightly different, reiterating the PlayStation 4 has sold more than 4.2 million units worldwide since launch. "PlayStation 4 remains the cumulative leader for next gen console sales in the U.S. since the launch on November 15," SCEA's Senior Director of Corporate Communications Dan Race wrote in response to the data. "We sold every PS4 available at retail in the U.S. and were out of stock in December due to overwhelming consumer demand." Microsoft's last official cumulative sales count for Xbox One units worldwide was 3 million units by the end of 2013.

Nintendo's 3DS led "overall hardware sales for December 2013 and for 2013 as a whole," the NPD Group's Liam Callahan noted. "Hardware sales of the Wii U were also positive with December 2013 marking its highest month for unit sales month so far," Callahan added. Nintendo has not revealed specific data.

Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 continued to dominate software sales, with Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag sliding down the list from third during its launch month in November to sixth last month. Just Dance 2014, previously placed at eight in November, surged up the charts to third.

The software leader throughout 2013 was Grand Theft Auto V. Rockstar's PS3 and Xbox 360 title defeated stiff competition, including a second-place Call of Duty: Ghosts, which launched on six platforms. The top ten in new physical retail sales for December and can be found after the break.




Top Ten New Physical Retail Sales: December 2013

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

  2. Battlefield 4 (360, XBO, PS4, PS3, PC) 2 Electronic Arts

  3. Just Dance 2014 (WII, 360, NWU, XBO, PS3, PS4)**

  4. Madden NFL 25 (360, XBO, PS3, PS4)

  5. NBA 2K14 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, PC)**

  6. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, NWU, PC)**

  7. Grand Theft Auto V (360, PS3)**

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

  9. FIFA 14 (360, PS4, XBO, PS3, PSV)

  10. Skylanders SWAP Force (WII, 360, PS3, NWU, 3DS, XBO, PS4)**


Annual 2013 Top Ten Games (New Physical Retail)

  1. Grand Theft Auto V (360, PS3)**

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

  3. Madden NFL 25 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO)

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

  5. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, NWU, PC)**

  6. NBA 2K14 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, PC)**

  7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, NWU, PC)**

  8. Just Dance 2014 (WII, 360, NWU, XBO, PS3, PS4)**

  9. Minecraft (360)

  10. Disney Infinity (360, WII, PS3, NWU, 3DS) 10 Disney Interactive Studios


** denotes titles with special editions, which are included in data tracking