The NPD Group released their monthly sales statistics yesterday, and to the surprise of many, it was Sony’s PS4 that managed to be the top-selling console for the sixth month in a row. Many games industry watchers thought the release of a cheaper Kinectless Xbox One would guarantee Microsoft at least one NPD victory, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s difficult to say how many skus Sony’s latest console was able to push, but recent estimates calculate over 70% more than their closest competitor.
This story comes off as a huge victory for the PS4, but in reality all current-gen hardware has something to cheer about. Regardless of who came out on top, PS4, Xbox One, and even Wii U saw huge surges in demand during the month of June. In total, hardware sales topped $292.7 million, decimating the $142 million during the same time last year. While the hype of E3 and a couple new consoles definitely helped to spike those stats, there’s no denying that the business of games consoles in the US seems to be in a steady period of growth.
The real unsung hero of this month’s NPD numbers was Nintendo’s Wii U. Recently released data says that sales for the system are up over 200% from the same time last year. As if that wasn’t enough, Mario Kart 8 was able to snag the number two slot in overall game sales. The question now becomes how long this momentum can last for all sides of the games industry. Will PS4 continue to sit pretty as the current-gen king? Is Nintendo on the verge of a comeback? Only time will tell! June’s NPD stats certainly proved to be worth their weight in shock value.
