Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 has extended its grip on the software charts in North America into 2016, with the military shooter coming out on top as the best-selling game in the U.S. last month.
In a month that saw few in the way of major game releases, Black Ops 3 once again managed to bump off the competition to claim first prize, followed by Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K16, Star Wars Battlefront, and Fallout 4.
However, the NPD Group noted that software on the whole was down 10 percent year-on-year, with game sales generating $212.7 million compared to the $235.6 million in sales posted in January 2015.
It wasn’t just games that took a hit either, as hardware sales declined from $185.4 million to $157 million, representing a drop of 15 percent in comparison to the same period last year. The NPD attributes this decline to the drop off of sales for last-generation hardware, such as the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, plus portable devices including the PS Vita and 3DS.
However, PS4 and Xbox One didn’t come away unscathed in what was overall a fairly underwhelming month for all format holders.
Said NPD analyst, Liam Callahan: “Recently, hardware declines typically were a result of [Xbox 360 and PS3] generation console and portable declines exceeding growth in [the current] generation hardware sales. In January 2016, however, the sales of [current] generation consoles declined by 8 percent, despite relatively flat unit sales, as average prices dipped by 6 percent as a result of price cuts that took place between January 2015 and January 2016.”
“New physical software declined by 10 percent in January 2016 versus last January,” Callahan added. “Part of this decline stemmed from a dearth of new launches this month compared to last year with new launches generating 51 percent fewer dollar sales than January 2014 launches.”
As reported earlier on PSU, the PS4 came out on top as the best-selling console of January 2016, beating the Xbox One once again in the process.
Check out the full software Top Ten below.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
- Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
- NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
- Star Wars: Battlefront (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
- Fallout 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
- Minecraft (360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
- Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
- Lego: Marvel Avengers (PS4, Xbox One, 360, Wii U, PS3, 3DS, Vita)
- FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)