Research firm NPD revealed the video-game sales figures for the month of May 2014, which place PS4 on top of the list for the fifth consecutive month against Xbox One. .
It has been an interesting year in the video game industry with fluctuating sales of both hardware and software. Sony secured the dominant position with its compelling sales of PlayStation 4 since its launch in November last year. Outselling its biggest rival, Microsoft's Xbox One, for the fifth straight month in May, PlayStation 4 has emerged as the best-selling video game console once again; reveal figures from research analytics firm NPD.
NPD analysts say May was good for the industry, as software and hardware sales went up compared to the previous year. According to the report, gamers spent $586 million on new gaming software and hardware in May, up 52 percent from $387 million in 2013. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 played a vital role in the hardware sales, which generated $187 million in May, up by 95 percent compared to $96 million in May 2013, Venture Beat reported.
On the software front, the sales of physical games at retails were up 57 percent from last year as gamers spent $274 million last month. This has been the biggest month for software sales, which was notably on the decline. The upward graph in software sales was a result of some top notch releases on multi-platforms and also some exclusives. Ubisoft's open world title Watch Dogs, which was launched on PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3 and PC, topped the list of top-selling software in the U.S. in May. Wii U exclusive Mario Kart 8 came in second, outperforming titles like Titanfall, Call of Duty: Ghosts and more.
"After six months of declines, software rebounded in May 2013 driven by new launches such as Watch Dogs, Mario Kart 8, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Kirby: Triple Deluxe," NPD analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement, VB added.
Below is the list of May's top-selling titles in chronological order.
1. Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)
2. Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo)
3. MLB 14: The Show (Sony)
4. Wolfenstein: The New Order (Bethesda Softworks)
5. Minecraft (Mojang)
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Activision)
7. NBA 2K14 (Take-Two Interactive)
8. Titanfall (Electronic Arts)
9. Kirby: Triple Deluxe (Nintendo)
10. Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision).
Sony's dominant position will most likely face competition from Microsoft in June as it has come up with a new offer of Xbox One minus the Kinect peripheral at the same price as PS4. The Kinectless Xbox One went on sale for $399 starting June 9, which means the next NPD report will show if Redmond's next-gen console was able to take over Sony's PS4.
After a successful launch in November, Sony has sold 7 million units of PS4 as of early April, whereas Xbox One has only shipped 5 million units worldwide as of April. No further sales reports have been revealed by Sony and Microsoft. NPD's data is only a snapshot of the bigger picture as it is limited to sales info in the U.S.
