The NPD Group has revealed the top ten best-selling games in the United States for the month of December as well as the entirety of 2013. The numbers also show which next-gen console sold better given the circumstances of their respective releases.
According to the report, via IGN, the Xbox One led annual hardware sales on a dollars basis, due in large part to its $499.99 price tag. However, while the Xbox One made the most money, the PlayStation 4 sold out of consoles quickly but managed to sneak a record for the best-selling console during the two-month launch window. In addition, although the Wii U's sales were a major disappointment for Nintendo, it saw its highest selling month in December of 2013 and the 3DS led hardware overall in 2013.
"PlayStation 4 remains the cumulative leader for next gen console sales in the U.S. since the launch on November 15. We sold every PS4 available at retail in the U.S. and were out of stock in December due to overwhelming consumer demand," said Dan Race, senior director of corporate communications for Sony Computer Entertainment of America. "With more than 4.2 million PS4 systems sold worldwide, it's clear that the PS4's gaming and entertainment features are resonating with large audiences and we're doing our best to provide additional inventory in all of the 53 countries where it's available."
Meanwhile Microsoft reports that 908,000 Xbox One consoles were sold in the United States in December, along with 643,000 Xbox 360 consoles. In December, gamers spent a combined $1.39 billion on Xbox 360 and Xbox One hardware, software and accessories. "Fans continue to show their excitement for new generation Xbox One games, with U.S. consumers purchasing an average of 2.9 games per console since launch," said Microsoft in a statement in which it noted that the figure refers to both retail and digital games.
IGN reports that Nintendo responded with a statement saying that more than 11.5 million 3DS systems have been sold to date in the United States and added that software sales increased "by more than 45 percent over sales in 2012." In December, 3DS games exceeded 1 million units overall. Still, these numbers weren't enough to let the company reach its projected 9.6 million sales goal.
