NPD has released their monthly findings of sales figures for the month of April. Despite strong numbers by Dark Souls III and Ratchet & Clank, the month was 15% down in retail game sales compared to April 2015.
The top-selling games for the month of April are as follow:
- Dark Souls III (PS4,
Xbox One) - Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
- MLB 16: The Show (PS4, PS3)
- Tom Clancy’s The Division (PS4,
Xbox One, PC) - Grand Theft Auto V (PS4,
Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC) - Minecraft (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3)
- Quantum Break (Xbox One)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
- NBA 2K16 (PS4,
Xbox One, 360, PS3) - Star Fox: Zero (Wii U)
According to NPD, consumers spent $598.1 million on new games or related products in April 2015, a stark contrast to the year-over-year $509.5 million. NPD analyst Liam Callahan explains the release of a certain AAA title last year boosted sales incredibly:
“Despite some record-breaking new launches, there were poor comparisons to the release of Mortal Kombat X in April 2015. Mortal Kombat X was a strong launch last year — its April 2015 sales exceeded that of the entirety of all April 2016 new launches by 18 percent.”
Console and hardware didn’t have it any easier, with retail sales being down 23% year over year, despite the PS4 and X1 outperforming their predecessors in cumulative sales throughout a 30-month period. The PS4 remained the top-selling console of the month, continuing its streak dating back to February.
