Drew-Constantino
Well, same old news, right?
PS4 was the the top-selling console in the United States last month, according to The NPD Group. Not only was Sony's gaming machine the best-selling console in the US for April, it also outpaced Xbox One and Wii U during the month of March, as well as February.
The NPD Group's Liam Callahan said that hardware sales dropped 23 percent when compared to April of last year, due in large part to a 19 percent decline of $30.4 million in console sales. Current-gen console spending dropped by 15 percent, while last-gen console dollar sales declined by over 70 percent. Additionally, portable hardware sales dropped by $11.3 million. Not only for hardware sales, April also saw a decline in software sales. You can check out the numbers below.
April had a pair of hugely successful launches in Dark Souls III and Ratchet & Clank, but NPD analyst Liam Callahan points out that 2016’s games didn’t before nearly as well as the games from the same period in 2015.
“New physical software declined in April 2016 due to a few factors: poor comparisons to last year’s new releases, and the poor performance of March launches in April compared to last year,” said Callahan. “Despite some record-breaking new launches, there were poor comparisons to the release of Mortal Kombat X in April 2015. Mortal Kombat X was a strong launch last year — its April 2015 sales exceeded that of the entirety of all April 2016 new launches by 18 percent.”
You can check out the top 10 software below for the month of April:
Ratchet & Clank is the big surprise here. It’s a PS4 exclusive, and it rose right to the top of the charts unlike any game in the series ever has.
“Ratchet & Clank had the best launch of any game in the Ratchet & Clank franchise when adjusting for the number of days sold in the data month, with sales recapturing success not seen for the franchise since the height of the PlayStation 2 era,” said Callahan.
Of course, Dark Souls III was the top-seller for the month. You can see that the series is nearly growing exponentially.
“The launch of Dark Souls III marked the strongest launch in the franchise’s history,” said Callahan. “Sales for Dark Souls III nearly doubled that of its predecessor, Dark Souls II, when adjusted for days in the market.”
Although it still isn't sharing its standard NPD statement, Sony confirmed with GameSpot that PS4 was the best-selling console during April in the US. It's worth noting that Xbox One was discounted for the entirety of April , which could have helped it to buck that trend and top PS4 sales. However, Microsoft's NPD statement avoids saying that it had the top console, while Nintendo's comment focused exclusively on the sales performance of its software.
Well, like I said in my last month's article about the March NPD results , I wouldn't be surprised if the PS4 will be the top console for the months of April to June, given the PS4 exclusive games that were scheduled to release on those months. Especially on this month of May, Uncharted 4 has just been released, so expect that PS4 will dominate the hardware sales again for this month. Once again, kudos to Sony for making the PS4 the top console in the US for the month of April.
Related Game(s): PS4 console
Uncharted 4 is a fantastic game but it can't keep me away from Dark Souls III. So happy to see DS3 doing so well. Uncharted 4 is gorgeous but a little clunky in the controls and is a bit more of the same. Not really a bad thing but not a great thing. DS3 deserves to top this list as there's so much to find and do and the series really is going out on a high. In some ways I kinda think Uncharted could have just left it after the last game.
Obviously it's too soon for numbers for Uncharted 4, the only reason I'm even mentioning it is because I'm bouncing between DS3 and UC4.
Okay so I'm not far into Uncharted but I am liking it, not having trouble with the controls but the Last of Us stealth system is a glaring annoyance.
Yes the stealth is annoying and having Nate pop his up to mark enemies whilst sneaking around could have been better implemented.
And I am finding the controls a little clunky. Don't get me wrong, they're not completely broken. I just find sometimes turning a corner and I get stuck on a wall or there's maybe a little too much weight in the character movement. I might not be describing it very well but it's just something I'm picking up on.
Controls are great- best in the series. Stealth is super fun, and the marking system works fine.
And no, the series shouldn't have stopped after the 3rd one, especially considering 4 is the best in the franchise. You say U4 is more of the same but DS3 isn't… all opinions invalid due to the hypocrisy of your statement.
yeah there's something off with the sneaking, i can make the same move twice and have difference results. You can't rely on it.
More of the same? Have you gotten to The Twelve Towers or At Sea chapters yet? Amazing! I haven't had any problems with the controls or stealth. In fact I was loving just how tight the controls are now, compared to past ND games which always felt a bit loose to me.
World, just curious, but what wasn't working consistently in the sneaking for you? I played many chapters on my first playthrough with barely firing a shot.
Last edited by mk ultra on 5/13/2016 6:37:30 PM
It's the pop out. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't at all, sometimes the person in the same location spots you right away and sometimes they don't.
@mk ultra, I left off tonight just at the beginning of At Sea.
@SayWord, I appreciate that you don't agree with my experience with the game but I personally find the controls a little bit off. If you read my original post you'll see you don't need to be so defensive. The game is great. I merely pointed out some flaws I came across. Well done to you if your time with the game is better.
Going back to DS3, that game is massive, hidden areas everywhere, lots of cool loot ie. Armor, weapons, spells, new areas, even after NG+ I'm running through an area with some random people and found somewhere else I missed the first playthrough. The level design is unmatched and I believe even non fans of the game can appreciate the intricate map design and art style. I admit I'm a massive fan of the series so yes I am a bit biased toward the game.
@frostface I keep going back between the two as well and always end up staying with DS3. I love the game play more although I enjoy UC4 for its story and scenery. That DS3 though.
The stealth never bothered me, but the loose floaty shooting has in previous titles and its no different now.
Well I loved uncharted 4, great game all the way through. Although I didnt really get the whole stealth stuff sometimes, found it a bit wierd that if one guy saw me all the other automatically knew where I was even if I took him out already.
Uncharted 4 takes so long to get going, once it does it hooks you in. It's a great game but it isn't without its flaws. And the controls this time around aren't as tight as previous entries in the series. Drake constantly gets stuck on scenery, in cover, or getting stuck on corners while running is happening more often than it should.
Despite hating Souls I give them credit, they really built a franchise around a ragequit game. Good for them.
Rephrased: "They made a game based around deep customization, intense rewarding fluid combat, exceptional exploration, discovery, and above all…FASHION SOULS"
I was never really able to get into the Souls series. I loved Bloodborne but even gave up on that after a certain point, so I know what your saying World. But DS3 is somehow more accessible than the other entries, it's one that I'd actually recommend to people who never played a SoulsBorne game as the entry to start with. I finished the game twice already and planning on a 3rd run after completing U4.
Great job for from software even I personally have no interest in the soul games but I will be all eyes and ears for a Bloodborne 2.
yeah there's something off with the sneaking, i can make the same move twice and have difference results. You can't rely on it.
Controls are great- best in the series. Stealth is super fun, and the marking system works fine.
And no, the series shouldn't have stopped after the 3rd one, especially considering 4 is the best in the franchise. You say U4 is more of the same but DS3 isn't… all opinions invalid due to the hypocrisy of your statement.
Okay so I'm not far into Uncharted but I am liking it, not having trouble with the controls but the Last of Us stealth system is a glaring annoyance.
Uncharted 4 is a fantastic game but it can't keep me away from Dark Souls III. So happy to see DS3 doing so well. Uncharted 4 is gorgeous but a little clunky in the controls and is a bit more of the same. Not really a bad thing but not a great thing. DS3 deserves to top this list as there's so much to find and do and the series really is going out on a high. In some ways I kinda think Uncharted could have just left it after the last game.
Obviously it's too soon for numbers for Uncharted 4, the only reason I'm even mentioning it is because I'm bouncing between DS3 and UC4.
More of the same? Have you gotten to The Twelve Towers or At Sea chapters yet? Amazing! I haven't had any problems with the controls or stealth. In fact I was loving just how tight the controls are now, compared to past ND games which always felt a bit loose to me.
World, just curious, but what wasn't working consistently in the sneaking for you? I played many chapters on my first playthrough with barely firing a shot.
Last edited by mk ultra on 5/13/2016 6:37:30 PM
Yes the stealth is annoying and having Nate pop his up to mark enemies whilst sneaking around could have been better implemented.
And I am finding the controls a little clunky. Don't get me wrong, they're not completely broken. I just find sometimes turning a corner and I get stuck on a wall or there's maybe a little too much weight in the character movement. I might not be describing it very well but it's just something I'm picking up on.
It's the pop out. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't at all, sometimes the person in the same location spots you right away and sometimes they don't.
Well I loved uncharted 4, great game all the way through. Although I didnt really get the whole stealth stuff sometimes, found it a bit wierd that if one guy saw me all the other automatically knew where I was even if I took him out already.
@mk ultra, I left off tonight just at the beginning of At Sea.
@SayWord, I appreciate that you don't agree with my experience with the game but I personally find the controls a little bit off. If you read my original post you'll see you don't need to be so defensive. The game is great. I merely pointed out some flaws I came across. Well done to you if your time with the game is better.
Going back to DS3, that game is massive, hidden areas everywhere, lots of cool loot ie. Armor, weapons, spells, new areas, even after NG+ I'm running through an area with some random people and found somewhere else I missed the first playthrough. The level design is unmatched and I believe even non fans of the game can appreciate the intricate map design and art style. I admit I'm a massive fan of the series so yes I am a bit biased toward the game.
I was never really able to get into the Souls series. I loved Bloodborne but even gave up on that after a certain point, so I know what your saying World. But DS3 is somehow more accessible than the other entries, it's one that I'd actually recommend to people who never played a SoulsBorne game as the entry to start with. I finished the game twice already and planning on a 3rd run after completing U4.
Despite hating Souls I give them credit, they really built a franchise around a ragequit game. Good for them.
Great job for from software even I personally have no interest in the soul games but I will be all eyes and ears for a Bloodborne 2.
Uncharted 4 takes so long to get going, once it does it hooks you in. It's a great game but it isn't without its flaws. And the controls this time around aren't as tight as previous entries in the series. Drake constantly gets stuck on scenery, in cover, or getting stuck on corners while running is happening more often than it should.
Rephrased: "They made a game based around deep customization, intense rewarding fluid combat, exceptional exploration, discovery, and above all…FASHION SOULS"
@frostface I keep going back between the two as well and always end up staying with DS3. I love the game play more although I enjoy UC4 for its story and scenery. That DS3 though.
The stealth never bothered me, but the loose floaty shooting has in previous titles and its no different now.