For the fifth month running, the PlayStation 4 was the best-selling console in the United States – even though hardware sales tumbled year-over-year. According to tracking firm NPD, physical spend in the video games sector totalled $1.01 billion in September 2015 – a reduction of nine per cent compared to the same period last year.
As alluded, reduced console sales were to blame, as hardware slipped 27 per cent down to $313.5 million. It's possible that consumers are waiting until Christmas before stumping up, but we reckon that the disparity can probably be attributed to last year's Destiny bundle doing gangbusters for the PS4 – the console sold over 500,000 units 12 months ago.
Destiny: The Taken King still proved popular for Sony, of course, with the platform holder describing its limited edition bundle for the expansion as "highly successful". The retail version of the release only reached fifth in the software best sellers list, but we'd imagine that a chunk of its sales came through the PlayStation Store. That's actually reflected by comments from the Japanese giant, as it claims that last month was the highest grossing in PlayStation Network history.
NBA 2K16 topped the physical software charts, beating out last month's best seller Madden NFL 16. This means that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain could only manage third, as FIFA 16, Disney Infinity 3.0, Mad Max, NHL 16, and Minecraft rounded out the top ten. It's going to be interesting to see whether Hideo Kojima's stealth masterpiece can hold onto its place next month.
And even more fascinating will be whether Sony's system can make it six months in a row. October sees the launch of Halo 5: Guardians, the biggest release in the Xbox One's history. However, the PlayStation maker has countered with a PS4 price drop which could swing the balance. One thing's for certain: hardware sales are only going up as the holidays plod on.
Top Ten Physical Retail Releases: September 2015
- NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
- Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360)
- FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
- Destiny: The Taken King (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
- Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
- Disney Infinity 3.0 (360, Wii U, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
- Mad Max (PS4, Xbox One)
- NHL 16 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
- Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
[source venturebeat.com, via venturebeat.com]
Comments 16
The Taken King must have sold like mad on the PSN for September to be the service's most successful ever month.
Extremely disappointed to see MGS V get outsold by annual sports games but at least NBA 2K is consistently great so there's no shame there. Madden is a joke but here in the States we can't get enough NFL even if we know something is garbage and sadly that's why EA knows it doesn't have to do sh*t to improve a series that has been bad since 2006.
As for the hardware sales battle, I expect Halo 5 will swing things in favor of Xbox One. The question is by how much.
@Gamer83
The last madden game I bought was madden92, on the mega drive, it was amazing if you liked detroit I think the best guy was Barry sanders (probably got name wrong I'm from the UK) faster than Usain bolt and could catch anything, not touched one since. From what I heard from comments like yours I got out at the right time.
@gingerfrog
Madden was a great series from the time it debuted right up through Madden 2005. Starting with 06, it was all downhill. I was a particularly big fan of Madden 2004. It was the game that laid the ground work for many other sports series franchise modes. And you got the player's name right. Barry Sanders is one of the great running backs of all-time.
I am very astounded at how PS4 has stayed at the top. I am proud
With the price drop and the BattleFront bundle I actually think PS4 will remain on top of hardware sales for the rest of the year. That Battlefront PS4 commercial made a believer out of me.
@Gamer83 didn't Barry Sanders play as kick returner on Specisl teams for the Lions? My personal favourite was the mighty Emmitt smith.
The stunning thing about this was that Forza 6 failed to crack the top ten.
themcnoisy, Barry Sanders played at running back. Gamer83 is correct on this. (I'm a Miami Dolphins lifer, so my favorite player is Dan Marino, and my least favorite is Ray Finkle.)
Well, between those two (price drop vs Halo 5) let's just say Sony has my money.
Also funny to see Disney Infinity in there when it was the only one of the Toys to Life NOT to release in September. Maybe one of the other two will show up in October, as they released near the end of the month.
@ferrarimanf355
Racing games are never really popular in the USA, especially the sim or simcade ones just don't seem to sell too well, I nevertheless expected them to sell enough to make it to the top 10.
But I just can't wrap my head around the entire list tbh. 2 glorified roster updates beating MGSV and the PS4 claiming yet another win over the Xbox. I like PS and for me games like ToZ, Disgaea and Dragon Quest heroes are wonderful, but your regular American consumer doesn't give 2 ducks about these titles, yet the One just can't catch a break even with all the positive news surrounding the system. There is a new dashboard on the way which will also bring BC, GoW just came out in September and Halo 5 was already marketed quite heavily. Than there were these insane deals where you practically got a 42" tv for free with the purchase of a One, but all of this still isn't enough to win people over.
There are some execs in Redmond banging their heads against the wall as we speak, cause what else can they do? How many virgins did Kaz sacrifice and to what God?
But if anything this proves you only get one chance to make a first impression, and MS... You've done ducked up!
@3Above True that!
@Boerewors MS made some great strides since launch, but you're right, it's near impossible to shake off that first impression. I wonder if MS should just accelerate R&D on the next Xbox so they can have it out in two years, much like what Nintendo is doing with the NX...
@Boerewors
Well PS4 is a solid system so by all rights X1 was always facing a tough opponent. But I think it comes down to the number one factor people never acknowledge- what's trendy.
And this generation, PS4 is what's trendy to own. It's the same thing that helped Wii sell 100 million units. When a console is cool to own, there's no force on earth that can stop it.
@JaxonH
You might be right, but I always thought that trendy and $400 for something you can easily live without wouldn't go together, guess I was wrong! One enormous factor in the succes of PS4 is Europe, or no, I should say every other country than the USA and UK. Xbox has done nothing to give Europeans, South Africans, Brazilians, Middle Easterners some attention which doesn't make sense: there are some huge markets they're leaving untapped where Sony is selling millions, and I'm pretty sure that based on the tv shows they watch, the movie's they go to and the influence of American 'culture' in these parts of the world that they like Halo and GoW better than they like Disgaea and Dragon Quest Heroes. If I saw a list of console features and available games for both and didn't know anything about their history or current trends, I would choose the One to be the more popular console for most of the Western market, but somehow they managed to ef it up.
@ferrarimanf355
I actually quite like that idea! Not only would that mean we do get a physical and real console after this one, it would mean we'd get some heavier specs sooner than we otherwise would. I'm really afraid this gen will drag on forever again just like last one did and I'm ready for more already. With the 360 it worked wonders for them to be first and even I, who hated the first Xbox with a passion, couldn't resist the call of a newer, shinier console (remember those first games were literally shinier, they totally got that 'new gen' look wrong).
Calling NBA 2k a glorified roster update is a big time diss to the developers at 2k. Especially when many reviewers are calling this particular iteration the biggest jump year to year ever for an annual release sports game. I understand we all have preferences, but why do we have to disrespect other's likes? MGSV is a great game, it had its time on top. I'll just continue to play my games and enjoy them. Peace and Love people.
@JaxonH
Yup, here in the States that's always the case it seems, in video games especially. How many PS2s were sold because it had a DVD player? It eventually had one of the greatest game libraries I've ever seen but until Fall 2001, almost a year after it was out, the library was weak but it kept selling and I remember a lot of my friends saying they bought it because it 'can play movies and games.' The Wii had one of the most brilliant introductions and for the first few years at least, one of the greatest marketing pushes behind it, ever, and rode that to become Nintendo's best-selling home console, a hugely impressive feat when you consider that NES and SNES are two of the top 5 consoles in history and their numbers combined are just a little ahead of the Wii alone.
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