NPD: March Video Game Sales Inch Up 3%

17 Apr, 2014 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Xbox One and PS4 hardware sales offset sluggish software revenue

Ongoing robust sales of Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 video game systems contributed a 3% uptick to $1 billion in new physical video game revenue in March, according to new data from The NPD Group.

Hardware sales skyrocketed 78% to $395 million, led by PS4 for the third month in a row. Sales increases were driven completely by consoles, which were up over 100%, due mainly to continued success from the PS4 and Xbox One.

NPD said PS4 and Xbox One continue to see success with cumulative sales of the two consoles through the first five months of release totaling more than double that of their predecessors, the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Accessory spending rose 4% from last year to $224 million due to increases in gamepads and headsets/headphones.

“Retail video game sales across hardware, software, and accessories increased … due to strong growth of hardware sales and modest growth in the accessory category,” the NPD’s Liam Callahan said in a statement.

However, collective new title launches sold 42% less in March than did new launches during the same period last year. In 2013, eight of the top 10 games included new releases Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Judgment, and God of War: Ascension. This year saw six of the top 10 games feature newbies, including Titanfall, inFAMOUS Second Son, South Park: The Stick of Truth and Dark Souls II.

“Titanfall was the top-selling game, with a solid attach rate to the Xbox One. After one month of sales, it is currently the second-highest selling game for the Xbox One,” Callahan said.

Indeed, software sales excluding new releases dropped 27% to $406 million. The tally declined another percent ($26 million) when factoring in PC games.

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