The NPD Group has posted the data on how well video games fared in the U.S. during the month of March. During the month, spending across the medium hit a collective $1.2 billion. However, this is down a massive 11% when compared to this time last year. March ended up be chock full of great games from the likes of Sony, Ubisoft, FromSoftware, and Capcom.
Coming out on top during the month was Ubisoft’s The Division 2. The game did this well despite PC digital sales not being included in the data. This means the exclusivity deal with the Epic Games Store had no impact on the great success of the game has found. The game also shot up to the second best selling game of the year so far only behind Kingdom Hearts III. The game’s launch month sales “are the sixth highest in history for an Ubisoft published game.”
Placing second for the month was FromSoftware’s newest IP, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Like The Division 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice also placed so high despite the lack of PC digital sales being counted in the data. The game is currently the eighth best selling game of the year, and has achieved FromSoftware’s second best launch month sales just behind when Dark Souls III released in 2016. The game also sold over 2 million units in its first ten days on sale.
Elsewhere on the chart, Sony’s annual baseball franchise placed third with MLB: The Show 19. The game achieved the highest launch month sales in franchise history, “and also set a new all-time high for a baseball genre game.” The return of Capcom’s Devil May Cry franchise with the critically acclaimed Devil May Cry 5 landed fourth on the list. Nintendo’s newest title, Yoshi’s Crafted World, placed ninth on the list. The rest of the list was filled out with some of the best selling games from last year.
Below are the top 10 games of March 2019:
1. The Division 2
2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
3. MLB: The Show 19
4. Devil May Cry 5
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
6. Red Dead Redemption II
7. NBA 2K19
8. Grand Theft Auto V
9. Yoshi’s Crafted World
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII
On the hardware front, the Nintendo Switch continues its dominate run as the best selling console of the month and the overall year. However, “Hardware spending in March 2019 fell 15 percent when compared to a year ago, to $282 million; and first quarter hardware spending declined 13 percent to $759 million.” This honestly isn’t too surprising though as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One generation is winding down. The next generation of PlayStation and Xbox both appear to be just over the horizon.