NPD August 2014: Hardware Up, Microsoft Down

Each month industry experts are given a report that details all of the consoles and software numbers sold from physical retail brick-and-mortar stores within the United States, which are then reported on by sites privileged with that sort of information. They are published from the NPD group, with this month’s numbers reporting for NPD August 2014.

Top 10 most sold physical software titles in the US, according to NPD August 2014 numbers (bracket order=most-to-least sold version):

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)

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It should be noted that bundles do not count towards the software sold rankings in the NPD August 2014 numbers, but do count towards hardware sales numbers. I bring it up because it’s absolutely worth mentioning that Madden 15 on PS4 outsold the Xbox One version at physical retail. Considering that Microsoft is coughing up $400 million over 5 years to expand upon NFL television viewing, and have very much marketed the Xbox One as an NFL and Madden gaming system, you have to wonder if the investment was worth it.

Beyond that, it’s another slow month when it came to video game releases. The PS4 continues to sell well in the US with its 8th straight month as #1 in console sales, as well as selling the most software out of any platform’s releases. Minecraft’s legs continue to stretch over many months, continually placing in the Top 10 in monthly sales. Finally, Xbox One’s only software victory over the PS4 came through with Call of Duty: Ghosts, a series that will likely back the Xbox One for some time.

Looking beyond the NPD August 2014 results, it’s clear that next month’s report will see Destiny at the top, but beyond that is where it gets interesting. With a Minecraft release on next-gen, as well as a light release schedule outside of the very last day of the month, perhaps we’ll see the Mojang-developed title take the number 2 spot in September. Will Hyrule Warriors chart next month? We’ll have to wait and see.

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