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August is well and truly over, and the latest NPD report confirms that the PlayStation 4 was the best selling box in the United States yet again. Sony's console outsold the competition in both the hardware and software departments, with Madden NFL 16 unsurprisingly touching down at the top of the latter list.

Despite all of this, overall industry spend at retail was down by two per cent year-over-year, netting just $548 million in total. Hardware sales dipped by the same margin, but software slipped the heaviest – from $231.3 million during the same period last year to just $207.9 million this time around. Until Dawn clearly didn't have the same appeal as The Last of Us Remastered, which was Sony's big release of summer 2014.

Still, the Supermassive Games developed schlocky horror smash performed surprisingly well, finishing up in seventh position in the software charts. Considering we were expecting the title to flop hard here at Push Square Towers, that's not bad at all. It did fail to outsell ever green franchises such as Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V, but that's nothing to be ashamed of all things considered.

Interestingly, the eighth best selling game of the month was the Call of Duty: Black Ops Combo Pack for last-gen consoles, which presumably enjoyed a boost on the back of the Black Ops III beta. Sony will have its eyes fixed on another Activision property for now, though, as it readies its exclusive Destiny: The Taken King bundle for US store shelves. We can't see anything other than a PS4 victory in September, but things should get tight again in October – unless the Japanese giant has a price drop up its sleeve.

Top Ten Physical Retail Releases: August 2015

  1. Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
  2. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
  3. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One)
  4. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
  5. LEGO Jurassic World (360, 3DS, Wii U, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, Vita)
  6. Rare Replay (Xbox One)
  7. Until Dawn (PS4)
  8. Call of Duty: Black Ops Combo Pack (360, PS3)
  9. Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, Xbox One)
  10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)

[source venturebeat.com]