April-NPD
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April NPD: PS4, Titanfall lead sales again
The PS4 outsold the Xbox One in the US in April, NPD reported. This was the fourth month in a row that PS4 sales out-performed Xbox One sales. Xbox One was the second-highest-selling piece of gaming hardware on the market for the month, and total hardware sales were up 76 percent, to $192.8 million. Microsoft reported Xbox One sales of 115,000 in April. Microsoft noted that it led software sales for the month: "April NPD Group figures released today showed that Xbox One continues to lead in software sales with the most cumulative units sold for any eighth generation home console platform life-to-date. Combined, Xbox One and Xbox 360 held eight of the top 10 spots on the generation eight and generation seven console game lists in the US." In April, Xbox One sold 447,000 games, while Xbox 360 sold 2.2 million games. Software sales overall were down 10 percent year-over-year. NPD analyst Liam Callahan said, "New physical software is in a transition period as software for new consoles are doing well, but collectively not offsetting declines." Titanfall was the No. 1 game for the second month in a row, followed by Call of Duty: Ghosts, NBA 2K14 and Minecraft for Xbox 360. See the full software top ten below. According to Callahan: "There were five SKU's in the top 10 not represented in the top 10 when ranked on a title basis (combination of SKUs across platforms), which were: 3DS Yoshi's New Island; PS4 Infamous: Second Son; PS3 MLB 14: The Show; XBO Kinect Sports Rivals; 360 Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare." [Image: EA]
April NPD: Injustice: Gods Among Us reigns supreme
Another hot, fresh loaf of financial data has been pulled out of The NPD Group's analytical oven, and its buttery goodness contains sales information for the four week period between April 4 and May 7, 2013. During that time, the physical retail sector of the games industry was down 25 percent when compared with its performance over the same four weeks in 2012, pulling in a grand total of $495.2 million. It's worth noting, however, that this figure does not include the sale of PC games. Hardware sales brought in $109.5 million, a 42 percent decrease from the $187.8 million seen last year, with the Xbox 360 once again enjoying the highest sales with 130,000 units moved. Meanwhile, the brief reprieve from year-over-year decline seen by the Accessories segment last month was short lived, as in April it by dropped 19 percent to a total of $131.4 million. Software sales (including PC games) topped out at $267.8 million, with NetherRealm Studios' Injustice: Gods Among Us taking top honors as the best-selling game for the period, the first time a fighting game has finished in first since 2011's Mortal Kombat. Dead Island: Riptide and BioShock Infinite rounded out the podium in spots two and three respectively – meanwhile MMO/Syfy series Defiance debuted in fifth. As always, scope the full list after the break.
April NPD: Prototype 2 tops charts, industry-wide sales down 32 percent year-over-year
The results for April are in, and things are looking a little rough out there in consumer video-game electronics land. As a whole, the gaming industry (which for our purposes includes all hardware, software and accessories sales between April 1 and April 28, 2012) brought in $630.4 million, a 32 percent decrease over the same period last year, where its various machinations resulted in collective sales of $930.9 million.Breaking the industry down into its three major components, hardware sales accounted for $189.7 million (down 32 percent year over year), while software sales contributed $292.1 million to the cause – a 42 percent decrease year over year. Accessories, on the other hand, posted a 1 percent increase year-over-year at $148.6 million in 2012, as compared with $147.8 million in 2011.The average amount of money spent on hardware increased year-over-year, however, due in part to the 360 Star Wars Kinect Bundle, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier. Generally though, the period's lackluster performance is due to the month's release schedule: "Last April, the top seven titles outsold the top-selling title this year, and, simply stated, there were notably fewer new market introductions. I think it's a simple as that because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever – we just saw a lot less this April as compared to last."The list of April's top 10 best-selling titles can be found after the break as per usual, with newcomers Prototype 2 and Kinect Star Wars leading the charge ahead of Modern Warfare 3, Mario Party 9 and Mass Effect 3.Update: According to Microsoft's Major Nelson, the Xbox 360 sold 236K units during April.
