The PlayStation 4 was the top-selling video game system in the United States for the fifth month running last month, according to the NPD Group’s May sales report.
Specific numbers were not shared for sales of any of the systems, but it sounds as if it was a good month for all three console manufacturers. Sales of new video game hardware were up substantially from May 2013; consoles and portables combined for $187 million in sales, a 95 percent increase over the $96 million in sales during the same period last year.
As you might expect, this has a lot to do with the two most recent systems to be launched, but they weren’t the only ones contributing. “While much of May 2014’s hardware growth was due to Xbox One and PS4, there was also year-over-year growth for the Wii U, and PS Vita,” said the NPD Group’s Liam Callahan.
Nintendo has already released a statement regarding the NPD figures, attributing the Wii U’s bump to strong sales of Mario Kart 8, which we know sold 1.2 million units worldwide in its first weekend alone. The company also noted that the 3DS was the second-best-selling system during the month.
Microsoft and Sony, on the other hand, have yet to discuss these latest figures. The Vita’s sales bump may come as somewhat of a surprise given how little attention Sony has paid to it, but it can likely be attributed at least in part to the release of the Borderlands 2 system bundle. Released early in the month, the bundle introduced the Vita’s first hardware revision to the U.S. market.
None of the three console makers has provided updates sales figures for their systems recently. The last official worldwide numbers put the PS4 at 7 million units (as of March 31), Xbox One at 3 million units (as of December 31, with 5 million shipped as of March 31), and Wii U at 6.17 million units (as of March 31).
When combining sales of new hardware and accessories, spending was up 52 percent year-over-year to $398 million. “The last time overall new physical channel growth saw a month-over-month increase of this magnitude was June 2008, with a 53 percent increase,” Callahan said.
The NPD Group also reported on software sales in the U.S. during May, with Watch Dogs proving to be the top seller.
| Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheSmokingManX |
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