PS4 back on top, Dying Light knocks Advanced Warfare down the NPD charts
Dying Light was the best-selling game in the US in January 2015, according to the NPD group, which also reported a return to the number one slot for Sony.
As we suspected when Microsoft's response was so muted, the PS4 once more outsold its new-gen rival.
"PlayStation 4 was the top selling console in January, it and remains the cumulative leader in the US, according to NPD data,” Sony said in a response statement.
"Since launch in November 2013, 18.5 million PS4 units and 81.8 million software units have been sold through to consumers worldwide."
This is disappointing news for Microsoft, but it's worth noting that for the first week of January the Xbox One was going for $400, before the price was once more dropped to $350. For the 15 months that PS4 and Xbox One have been on sale, Microsoft has led hardware sales for just two of them - November and December 2014.
Nintendo hasn't commented on the NPD's report as yet.
Software
Dying Light dominated the sales charts in January. It was the only major new release, but even with that in mind its performance was impressive.
“In January 2015, Dying Light had the highest first month of sales for new IP in the survival-horror genre, exceeding the previous record, The Evil Within, which launched in October 2014,” NPD analyst Liam Callahan said.
Given its popularity, Warner Bros. must be kicking itself for not getting the game out to other territories in the same timeframe.
Even though there was only one, Callahan said this January was better than the last for new releases.
"The sales of January 2015 launch titles were up over 200 percent versus January 2014, with Dying Light being the major new release of the month. If January 2015 releases performed in line with January 2014 releases, overall software sales would have decreased by 4 percent."
- Dying Light (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
- Grand Theft Auto 5 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
- Minecraft (360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4)
- NBA 2K15 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
- Super Smash Bros. (Wii U, 3DS)
- Far Cry 4 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
- Madden NFL 15 (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
- Destiny (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3)
- FIFA 15 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS)
General
Total industry sales reached $662.1 million in January, a 5% year-on-year decrease from 2014's $625.7 million.
The drop off was largely due to a 23% year on year decline in hardware sales, which fell from $239.6 million to $185.5 million (-$54 million).
That's not terribly surprising given the time frame of new-gen console releases, and not necessarily a bad sign; the combined hardware install base of PS4 and Xbox One is close to 60% higher than the cumulative hardware totals for Xbox 360 and PS3 at the same point in their lifecycle.
PS4 and Xbox One together saw year on year sales declines of 22%, whereas other, older consoles saw sales declines of 35%.
Software sales grew 5% from $231.2 million to $242.3 million. Accessories grew 3% from $231.2 million to $242.3 million.
As always, please bear in mind that the NPD Group's monthly reports cover traditional retail only, and therefore don't provide an accurate assessment of the overall health of the industry.