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The NPD Group: God Of War Topped The April Charts With Its Record Launch
The NPD Group released its April report today, sharing some great news for Sony. God of War was April's best-selling game, but even more exciting is that it set a new record for highest-ever sales by dollar in a launch month for a PlayStation exclusive game.
With God of War's success, Sony earned its place as April's top-selling publisher. However, Ubisoft still has the lead for the top revenue-generating publisher this year, with Far Cry 5 being the second best-selling game of April. MLB 18: The Show earned third place, only behind God of War for best-selling exclusive. The Nintendo Labo Variety Kit also made it into the top four, while the Robot Kit only ranked at number 21.
Some other cool stats to consider: April's overall spending across all video game hardware, software accessories, and game cards grew 18 percent compared to a year ago, with gains across all categories. Hardware spending also increased for April 2018, increasing 14 percent, with gains for Xbox One, PS4, and Plug 'N Play devices such as the SNES Classic. The PS4 earned the highest April unit sales for a console since the Nintendo Wii in April 2009.
Our Take
God of War generated a lot of buzz with stellar reviews, so it's not surprising that it came out on top. In addition, I'm glad to see Nintendo Labo on the list, as it was an unknown factor for how well it would sell, but it looks like kids and adults alike are getting in on the cardboard building.
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