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Batman: Arkham Knight kept PS4 top of NPD charts for June

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News by Brenna Hillier Contributor
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Batman: Arkham Knight was the biggest thing to happen in June. Surprise!

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Batman: Arkham Knight PS4 bundles and exclusive content helped keep Sony's console at the top of the US sales charts in June, Sony said in response to the latest monthly report on US retail from the NPD.

The latest Rocksteady outing helped drive a 19% year-on-year surge in monthly software sales, and after just 12 days on sale during the tracked period became the second highest-selling release of 2015 behind Mortal Kombat X.

NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said Arkham Knight's first month sales "slightly exceeded" that of Arkham City in October 2011.

"Remarkable considering the difference in hardware install bases," he commented. "If sales were included from hardware bundles, Arkham Knight is the best-selling game of 2015 so far."

Console Wars

As noted above, the PS4 was the best selling console in the US of June 2015. The 19 month old console has held this coveted top spot for 16 months of its life to date. In a statement, Sony said the PS4 also dominated software sales.

“PS4 continues to lead console sales in the US and globally,” the company added.

Microsoft did have some good news; a representative said Xbox One sales in the US were up 51% over June 2014 and active global Xbox Live users across both Xbox One and Xbox 360 grew by 22%.

Even Nintendo is having a decent time sales-wise. Combined sales of 3DS and Wii U increased by more than 20% over June 2014, which Nintendo puts down to the New 3DS XL. 3DS sales are up 40% year to date over the same period in 2014.

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Software

June was the fourth month of year-over-year software sales increases in 2015 so far. For the first six months of the year in total, software sales are up 3% over the same period of 2014.

"With a strong lineup of games for the remainder of the year, there is the potential for a positive growth in the second half of the year as well," Callahan said

The charts below ought to make Warner Bros. pretty happy. In addition to chart-topping Batman: Arkham Knight, the publisher did very well off the debut of LEGO: Jurassic World and Mortal Kombat X continues to sell strongly.

Along with Dying Light, these releases have made Warner Bros. the top publisher of 2015 so far, Callahan said, with a 217% dollar sales increase over the same period in 2014.

Otherwise, The Elder Scrolls Online is doing very well, and Splatoon and The Witcher 3 remain steady. Here's the full software chart:

  1. Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
  2. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
  3. LEGO: Jurassic World (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, 3DS, Wii U, PSV)
  4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
  5. Splatoon (Wii U)
  6. Minecraft (Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
  7. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
  8. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One)
  9. NBA 2K15 (Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, PC)
  10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

General

Total industry spend was $869.4 million, up 18% year-on-year from June 2014.

Software sales increased 21% year-on-year to $345.5 million, with hardware up by 8% year-on-year to $313.1 million.

The NPD said PS4 and Xbox One sales grew 15% year on year, offsetting declines in older console sales. Although some of this can be attributed to a steadying of PS3 and Xbox 360 declines, it's heartening news for the growth of the latest generation.

It looks like we can give credit to Sony and Microsoft for sweetening their deals; Callahan said bundles made up 82% of all console sales, up from 35% in June 2014.

The NPD monthly reports track new retail purchases in the US only.

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