There were no upsets in the March 2015 NPD report, as the PlayStation 4 maintained its position as the best selling system in the United States for the third consecutive month. Sony's console's success was buoyed by Bloodborne, which finished second in the software charts – an extremely impressive result, given the niche status of the Souls series. Battlefield: Hardline, unsurprisingly, cuffed itself to the top spot.
It was a particularly good month for the Japanese giant, with MLB 15 The Show also entering in sixth; however, the cumulative numbers weren't quite as rosy for the industry as a whole. Overall sector spend totalled $963.7 million, down six per cent year-over-year. Hardware revenue dipped the hardest, falling 21 per cent from $393.4 million in 2014 to just $311.1 million this year. It's entirely possible that the Xbox One's price cuts contributed to that tumble, of course.
Nevertheless, software sales also fell, dipping from $405.6 million to $395.4 million. Last year ushered the arrival of inFAMOUS: Second Son and Titanfall, so it would appear that the previous month's roster just couldn't compete. As mentioned, Battlefield: Hardline and Bloodborne topped, with Grand Theft Auto V and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare filling out the top five. Meanwhile, new arrivals Borderlands: The Handsome Collection and Final Fantasy Type-0 HD finished in ninth and tenth respectively.
"We are truly honoured that the PS4 is the top-selling console and No. 1 in software sales again according to NPD sales data for March 2015," an upbeat Sony spokesperson told GamesBeat in a statement. "PS4 remains the cumulative sales leader both globally and in the United States, and we want to thank gamers worldwide for their ongoing support." Barf.
Cringeworthy statements aside, we suspect that the PlayStation maker secretly expected this result, as it had a really strong software lineup for the month. Things start to dry up again now ahead of the summer, but it's hard to imagine Sony's grip on the States sliding anytime soon. In fact, if it plays its cards right, we could see the PS4 getting settled at the summit until at least October. Things have really turned around since last generation, eh?
Top Ten Physical Retail Releases: March 2015
- Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, 360, PS3, PC)
- Bloodborne (PS4)
- Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
- Mario Party 10 (Wii U)
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
- MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)
- Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
- NBA 2K15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
- Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (PS4, Xbox One)
- Final Fantasy: Type 0 HD (PS4, Xbox One)
[source venturebeat.com]
Comments 15
Minecraft has been a top ten game for 3 years or something. Who doesn't own this game yet?
@themcnoisy Incredible, isn't it? That game's a sales machine!
Wait, Minecraft is a game? I thought it was all just merch.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi
Impressive, makes you wonder when and how this run will end.
Sony has done an impressive turn around in North America in comparison to the PS3's first few years..........I reckon Microsoft regrets disolving so many of its first and second party assets in the 2006-2010 timeframe.
@themcnoisy I still haven't picked up Minecraft yet
Good for the PS4. March 2015 was probably my favorite month of this gen so far. With DmC: Definitive, RE: Revelations 2, Bloodborne, MLB The Show and Toukiden it seemed like there was something great pretty much every week.
@rockman29
Agree, you look at the orginal Xbox, 2001 to 2005, and not every software experiment worked, but you had a lot of great franchises which were not mega hits,......stuff like Crimson Skies, MechAssault, Blinx, Project Gotham Racing, even the SEGA and PC oriented second party stuff was interesting. Then sometime around 2007-2008, they said F that, we have Halo, Gears, Forza, and to a lesser extent, Fable.........let everything else go. Although Microsoft still does a bang up job during the holiday season, the year around exclusives are lacking compared to Sony, and now that the Playstation is back in the public eye, it's kinda noticable to the average joe.
@sub12
Unfortunately PGR 4 sold like complete sh*t, that's what killed that franchise. From a gamer's perspective it's always nice to have more options but with Forza being the much more popular series, I can see why MS made the business decision it did.
@Gamer83
That's true between PGR and Forza, and I might get hate for saying this, but I think Microsoft does a better job of keeping the racing fan happy with the yearly rotation of Forza and the Horizon series.
Overall though, Sony first and second party studios trounce Microsoft, especially after Sony more or less pulled all PSP and Vita developers to the PS4 minus some elements of Studio Japan (sad to say but true).
@sub12
I agree, I think MS has a great thing going with the Forza Motorsport series and now the Horizon subseries. I was actually a huge fan of PGR so I certainly miss the series but I can't complain too much when the Horizon games are 2-for-2 with delivering what I want in a racing game and the Motorsport games are usually good sim racers although I still prefer Gran Turismo for that.
PS4's been a bit rubbish for racing games so far. Don't get me wrong, I really like DriveClub, but there's only really been that and Need for Speed. I honestly think the bigger problem is that racing games don't sell like they used to, though.
Looking forward to Project CARS, as that should fill a gap.
@get2sammyb
I agree with you there's just so much niche interest in driving games. I got the platinum on need for speed and I know the majority won't agree with me but drive club which I still enjoy but it is not enough of an arcade racer for me. I'd rather a crash team racing or rage racer for my taste. Not interested in the gt or forza series and not sure about project racing either
I look forward to the NPD numbers every month just to see the hilarious Kaz GIFs
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