The latest U.S. hardware and software data has trickled onto the web courtesy of the NPD Group, revealing an eye-watering 30 per cent year-on-year decline retail spending for the month of June.
In fact, last month marked a pretty depressing period for the industry as a whole, with hardware sales slumping 45 per cent compared to the same period in 2011. Software didn’t fare much better either, declining by 29 per cent.
Speaking of software, LEGO Batman 2 took the top spot, with the likes of Diablo III and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier also make the top five. Conspicuous by its absence however was Grasshopper Manufacture’s Lollipop Chainsaw, which moved just 107,000 units.
Indeed, it seems the game is destined to follow the same fate as Grasshopper’s previous effort, Shadows of the Damned, which sank without trace in June 2011.
NPD analyst Anita Frazier commented: “Batman may be on consumer’s minds with Batman: Arkham City also ranking sixth, and with the latest movie, Dark Knight Rises, debuting later in July.”
Check out the full Top Ten below.
-Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (360, Wii, PS3, NDS, 3DS, PSV, PC)
-Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (360, PS3, PC)
-Diablo III (PC)
-Max Payne 3 (360, PS3, PC)
-NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
-Batman Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)
-Pokemon Conquest (NDS)
-Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
-Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
-The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3, 3DS, NDS, Wii)
As ever we’re none the wiser as to how many hardware units Sony shift in regards to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, with the firm yet to even issue comment on the numbers. However, Xbox 360 once again took the crown for the best-selling console, though sales were down a staggering 45 per cent year-on-year.