PS4 top-selling console for sixth consecutive month in US

PlayStation 4 led US hardware sales for the sixth consecutive month and remains the life-to-date leader for next-gen hardware, Sony has announced.

The news arrives alongside NPD’s June 2014 report, which shows a major (106 per cent) year-over-year increase in hardware revenue driven by console sales.

The 106 percent increase in hardware sales (vs. June 2013) was lifted entirely by console hardware sales, which were up by over 200 percent. The strong sales performance of console hardware helped to offset the declines seen in portable hardware,” NPD analyst Liam Callahan explained.

Combined sales of Xbox One and PS4 are over 80 percent higher than the combined totals for Xbox 360 and PS3 – an indication of the strength of the start of this new console generation.”

The category hit $292.7m for the month, while software saw a year-over-year drop of 3 per cent to $286.8m and accessories virtually matched its June 2013 numbers at $156.9m. Overall, industry revenue jumped 24 per cent compared to last year during the same period.

While unit sales of launch titles in June’14 declined 67 percent when compared to June’13 launch title sales, there was a 47 percent increase in unit sales for games that launched across the second quarter of 2014 (April – June) when compared to the same time period in 2013,” Callahan said.

Sales of launch titles in June 2014 did not compare favorably to those launched in June 2013, which included the PS3 exclusive The Last of Us, along with Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and a retail version of Minecraft for the Xbox 360.”

Nintendo also revealed in a separate release that Mario Kart 8 sold over 885,000 copies in the US during its first five weeks. Here’s the software category’s top ten:

1. Watch Dogs (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
2. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
3. Minecraft (PS3, Xbox 360)
4. EA Sports UFC (PS4, Xbox One)
5. FIFA 14 (PS3, PS4, Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
6. NBA 2K14 (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
7. Wolfenstein: The New Order (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
8. Call of Duty: Ghosts (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
9. Tomodachi Life (3DS)
10. Grand Theft Auto 5 (PS3, Xbox 360)