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June 2015 NPD: All Good News As Batman Leads Rising Sales
The June NPD numbers are out, and while the data tells a familiar tale for the leading current-gen consoles, everyone has reasons to be happy. Here's the full breakdown.
NPD Group reports that June sales were up from last year in hardware, software, and accessories, with an increase in total sales of 18 percent.
As Sony shared earlier today, the PlayStation 4 was the top-selling console for the month of June, as it was last month. Sony attributes much of the success to its Arkham Knight bundles, and the PS4 also led software sales for the month.
However, Microsoft still has its own bragging rights, stating that Xbox One sales are up 51 percent from last June, and that Xbox Live users are up 22 percent. Microsoft also claims that preview participants have racked up over 500,000 hours playing 360 games via the Xbox One's upcoming backward compatibility feature, and that the Xbox One game lineup received more nominations (242) and awards (110) at this year's E3 than any previous year in the Xbox brand's history.
Industry-wide, software sales were up 19 percent compared to last June. Batman: Arkham Knight led the charge, despite not going on sale until June 23. Hardware sales were up 8 percent compared to last June, with current-gen console sales up 15 percent. Interactive toys were up 44 percent, leading to an overall increase of 34 percent for accessory sales.
Here is the full top ten list:
- Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, XBO, PC)
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited (XBO, PS4, PC)
- LEGO: Jurassic World (360, XBO, PS4, PS3, 3DS, NWU, PSV)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4, XBO, PC)
- Splatoon (NWU)
- Minecraft (360, PS3, XBO, PS4)
- Grand Theft Auto V (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
- Mortal Kombat X (PS4, XBO)
- NBA 2K15 (360, PS4, XBO, PS3, PC)
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
As always, the platforms are listed in the order of sales, and do not include hardware bundles – including the aforementioned Arkham Knight PS4 bundles, making its number-one win all the more impressive.
Our Take
It's great to see that
sales are up, as gamers continue to flock to the latest generation of consoles.
Games built exclusively for the current-gen systems are clearly paying off,
with Arkham Knight, Elder Scrolls Online, and The Witcher 3 all ranking high.
However, I'm astonished by the staying power of Grand Theft Auto V and
Minecraft - especially considering that NPD still doesn't count digital
purchases. Hopefully the pace of sales keeps up during the summer slump.
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