March 2015 NPD: PS4 leads, Battlefield and Bloodborne top software

U.S. video game sales results for the month of March 2015 are in.

General

Consumers spent $963.7 million on software, consoles, and accessions in March, down 6 percent from the $1.02 billion spent during the same period in 2014.

Hardware sales generated $311.1 million, down 21 percent from the $393.4 million generated during the same period in 2014.

Software sales generated $395.4 million, down three percent from the $405.6 million spent during the same period in 2014.

“Physical software sales decreased by 6 percent from March 2014 as strong growth of [PS4, Xbox One, Wii U] helped to partially offset the sharp declines of seventh generation consoles, which were down 52 percent, and physical PC games, down 64 percent,” NPD analyst Liam Callahan said. “A bright light in the portable space was the increase in 3DS software sales of over 20 percent from March 2014.

“March 2015 software sales showed growth across all three eighth-generation consoles — PS4, Xbox One, Wii U,” Callahan continued. “[They] collectively increased by 58 percent versus March 2014. This is a sign of the health of the eight generation console space; especially when considering the strong March 2014 software releases as a comparison, such as Titanfall and inFAMOUS: Second Son.”

Top ranking standalone software for the month include:

1. Battlefield: Hardline (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, 360, PS3, PC)
2. Bloodborne (PS4)
3. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
4. Mario Party 10 (Wii U)
5. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
6. MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)
7. Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
8. NBA 2K15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
9. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (PS4, Xbox One)
10. Final Fantasy: Type 0 HD (PS4, Xbox One)

Sony

“We are truly honored PlayStation 4 is the top-selling console and No. 1 in software sales again according to NPD sales data for March 2015,” a spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment told VentureBeat. “PS4 remains the cumulative sales leader both globally and in the United States and we want to thank gamers worldwide for their ongoing support.”

Earlier this week, Sony announced worldwide sales for Bloodborne have reached one million.

Microsoft

“In March, cumulative U.S. Xbox One sales continued to outpace Xbox 360 sales at the same point in its lifecycle,” a spokesperson told VentureBeat.

Microsoft did not provide sales numbers.

Nintendo

3DS hardware sales in 2015 have increased by nearly 80 percent over sales during the first three months of 2014.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D sold more than 184,000 in its second month, bringing its lifetime sales to more than 730,000 total units.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS moved an additional 110,000 in March, bringing its lifetime sales to 2.4 million.

Wii U hardware sales in 2015 have increased by more than 20 percent over sales during the first three months of 2014.

Mario Party 10 launched on March 20 and sold nearly 290,000 total copies in its first two weeks.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Mario Kart 8 have achieved total lifetime sales of 1.6 million and 1.9 million units, respectively.

Thanks, VentureBeat.