Mario Kart 8, Watch Dogs spark big US game sales in May - NPD
The new consoles also continued to show momentum as hardware sales jumped 95% over last May
Publishers had been feeling the effects of next-gen software not selling fast enough to offset the declines of the previous-gen consoles, but that may now be changing, judging by The NPD Group's May US video game sales report. Total industry sales were way up, climbing 52 percent to $586 million. This was driven not only by the continued adoption of Xbox One and PS4, as hardware skyrocketed 95 percent to $187 million, but also by a sizable 57 percent increase in console software sales to $274 million (PC software brings that total up to $284 million).
Ubisoft's new hit title Watch Dogs, which sold 4 million worldwide in its first week, was atop the charts with its multiple SKUs, but Nintendo's single-SKU Mario Kart 8 was also a factor, placing second on the chart - impressive considering it's only available to Wii U's somewhat limited installed base. Sony's MLB 14: The Show and Bethesda's Wolfenstein: The New Order also helped drive industry revenues.
Here's the complete top ten list from NPD:
