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Xbox 360 continued to be the top-selling console in the US during April, despite sales of the console falling 44 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest data released by the NPD Group.
130,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold in the US last month, down from 236,000 a year earlier as consumers gear up for Microsoft’s next-gen reveal next week. Sales data for other hardware, including PS3, Wii U and PS Vita has not been revealed.
But despite a 118 per cent increase in software sales, Bloomberg reports that overall spend on hardware, software and accessories fell 25 per cent to $495.2m.
Warner Bros.’ DC Comics fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us takes the top spot in April’s physical software charts, followed by Dead Island: Riptide, BioShock Infinite, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and Defiance.
“Despite overall declines, April title launches in 2013 fared better than games that launched in April 2012, up 118 percent in unit sales and 130 percent in dollar sales,” said NPD analyst Liam Callahan (via GamesIndustry.biz). “This increase was driven by games like Injustice: Gods Among Us, Dead Island: Riptide, and Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins.”
He added, “Overall declines are stemming from the performance of games launched prior to April; for example, the decrease in sales performance of March launches. Specifically, when looking at video games launching in March 2012, month 2 sales represented 25 percent of the total first two months of sales, which contracted to 17 percent for March 2013 launches.
“One reason for this might be the decrease in the number of new titles, which can cause sales of a title to be ‘front loaded’ with a greater amount of sales happening in the first month of its release.”
Source: Bloomberg, GamesIndustry.biz
