The August NPD results are in and it’s seemingly business as usual for Sony’s PlayStation 4 as it ran home a comfortable winner against its nearest rival, Microsoft’s Xbox One, for the eighth consecutive month.
Fresh from an SCEA press release, the figures show that hardware sales in general are up 116% compared to this time last year – of course helped no end by the release of two next-generation consoles at the backend of last year. Overall retail sales climbed a modest 8% whilst complete software sales were down 21% over year. Collectively – and for the third month running – PlayStation was number one in combined home console hardware sales (which takes into account both PlayStation 4 and 3).
Most interestingly, however, is that new release Madden NFL 15 sold best on Sony’s PlayStation 4, eclipsing that of Microsoft’s Xbox One which normally has a stranglehold on EA Sports’ premier American football title within the North American region. Better yet, Naughty Dog’s PS4 remaster of its flagship offering The Last of Us has continued its strong sales, becoming the top selling first-party title on Sony’s newest machine.
In terms of third-party sales, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition joined the aforementioned Madden NFL 15 as the top sellers this month, with games like Call of Duty: Ghosts and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare completed the ten-strong list.
Here’s a rundown of the software sale rankings:
1. Madden NFL 15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
2. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
3. Minecraft (360, PS3)
4. The Last of Us (PS4, PS3)
5. Call of Duty: Ghosts (360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, PC, Wii U)
6. Lego Marvel Super Heroes (360, PS3, Wii U, PS4, 3DS, DS, Xbox One, Vita, PC)
7. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One)
8. Watch Dogs (PS4, 360, PS3, Xbox One, PC)
9. Battlefield 4 (360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
10. The Lego Movie Videogame (360, 3DS, PS3, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, Vita)
Are you surprised by this month’s NPD findings? Give us your opinions in the comments section below.