According to the April 2017 NPD report, the US gaming market is on a big rise this year, with a 10% rise if compared to the April 2016 figures.
April results
- Total: $636 million (up 10% from $577 million in April 2016)
- Hardware: $195 million (up 37% from $142 million)
- Console software: $304 million (up 6% from $287 million)
- PC software: $11 million (down 57% from $27 million)
- Accessories: $125 million (up 4% from $121 million)
Most of the rise should be credited to the market impact of the new Nintendo Switch console. This, in turn, determined also a market rise for the games themselves, and it’s reasonable to consider that this rise will continue in the next years.
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
2. Persona 5
3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
4. MLB 17: The Show
5. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
6. Grand Theft Auto V (still!)
7. Mass Effect: Andromeda
8. NBA 2K17
9. Overwatch
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (released in 2012)
Talking about gaming titles, the top-selling sports simulation game in April was MLB The Show 17, the fourth overall title. The top 10 includes also NBA 2K17 (8th place). No actual selling figures have been released, only standings. The popular baseball franchise climbs up to the second place when considering only PlayStation 4 titles.
If considering the standings through April, NBA 2K17 outsold MLB The Show 17, (8th place against 10th place), but the basketball simulation has of course been on the market much longer.
Talking about hardware, the Nintendo Switch outsold both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for the second month in a row. “Hardware spending jumped 37 percent compared to April 2016, to $195 million,” said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. “The Nintendo Switch was the catalyst for this growth with sales exceeding 280,000 units. The industry drove the highest April hardware dollar sales since April 2011.”
