14 DAY TRIAL // The NPD Group-compiled sales chart for the month of August in the United States is out, and to no one’s surprise, the biggest title of the period was Madden NFL 15, the American football simulation from EA Sports which has managed to take out the challenge of its rivals in order to go to number one despite launching relatively late in the month.
According to NeoGAF, the rest of the top ten includes:
- Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, 360, PS3 and PC
- Minecraft – Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
- The Last of Us – PlayStation 4 and PS3
- Call of Duty: Ghosts – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, 360, PS3 and PC
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC, 3DS, Vita
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, 360, PS3
- Watch Dogs – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, 360, PS3 and PC
- Battlefield 4 – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, 360, PS3 and PC
- The LEGO Movie Videogame – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, Wii U, Vita and PC.
Total spending on video games has been down when compared to August of 2013, dropping by 21 percent to 231.6 million dollars (178.5 million Euro).
At the moment, the NPD Group only tracks sales that are made via retail chains in the United States, and that means that the overall picture might be very different when digital services are taken into account.
Madden NFL 15 leads on the PlayStation 4.
Despite the fact that the team at Microsoft has created a special bundle that includes an Xbox One and a copy of Madden NFL 15, the title from EA Sports has sold better on the PlayStation 4 overall, which is a change when compared to the previous generation of consoles.
Diablo III, in its Ultimate Evil Edition version, has also performed better on the Sony-made device, which suggests that a major shift is taking place in the United States at the moment.
The only video game where the Xbox One remains dominant is Call of Duty: Ghosts, the first-person shooter from developer Infinity Ward and publisher Activsion.
Currently, the only long-term problem for publishers is that the decline in overall sales is faster than the replacement generated by the launch of new devices.
Even if the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 are successful, the industry cannot remain healthy as long as the number of boxed games drops at the current rate.