Thanks to The NPD Group and Venturebeat for the breakdown.
Here are the numbers for March 2018:
SOFTWARE
"Far Cry 5 debuts as the top-selling title of March 2018 and instantly becomes the best-selling title of 2018," NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. "Far Cry 5 set a new launch month sales record for the Far Cry franchise, with consumer spending on full-game sales nearly doubling that of previous franchise best, Far Cry 3. Publisher Ubisoft is the leading publisher in both March and 2018 year to date (January through March)."
Far Cry 5 swept the console charts, but it's not the only new game that saw success last month. Microsoft and Rare's co-op pirate simulator Sea of Thieveslaunched on March 20 and earned a No. 2 spot in the best-sellers list despite only rolling out to Xbox One and Windows 10. Its debut came after several closed-beta sessions that drummed up hype. More than a million players set sail on the open ocean within the first two days, crashing its servers at one point with all their plundering and pillaging.
"Sea of Thieves was the second best-selling game of March, and is the eighth best-selling game of 2018 year to date," said Piscatella. "Sea of Thieves generated the highest launch month sales for any title produced by developer Rare since tracking by The NPD Group began in 1995."
Along with Far Cry 5, other franchises also set launch month records. Sony's MLB 18: The Show and Hal Laboratory's Kirby: Star Allies both had the best-selling debuts in their series histories.
The Kirby record is in terms of revenue
HARDWARE
Compared to March 2017, consumers spent less on hardware last month — $331 million, down 32 percent from $485 million. But year to date, hardware-spending is at a high, generating $925 million so far in 2018. This was driven mainly by Microsoft's Xbox One, though Sony's PlayStation 4 remains the best-selling console in March and 2018. The Nintendo Switch 32GB with red and blue Joycon controllers was the best-selling hardware in March and 2018.
While folks weren't spending as much on consoles last month, accessories saw an uptick thanks to the popularity of multiplayer games like certain wildly popular battle royale hits.
RANKINGS
**No PC digital sales included
Xbox One
Here are the numbers for March 2018:
- Total: $1.316 billion (down 11 percent from $1.478 billion in March 2017)
- Hardware: $331 million (down 32 percent from $485 million)
- PC and console software: $613 million (down 10 percent from $682 million)
- Accessories: $372 million (up 20 percent from $310 million)
"Far Cry 5 debuts as the top-selling title of March 2018 and instantly becomes the best-selling title of 2018," NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. "Far Cry 5 set a new launch month sales record for the Far Cry franchise, with consumer spending on full-game sales nearly doubling that of previous franchise best, Far Cry 3. Publisher Ubisoft is the leading publisher in both March and 2018 year to date (January through March)."
Far Cry 5 swept the console charts, but it's not the only new game that saw success last month. Microsoft and Rare's co-op pirate simulator Sea of Thieveslaunched on March 20 and earned a No. 2 spot in the best-sellers list despite only rolling out to Xbox One and Windows 10. Its debut came after several closed-beta sessions that drummed up hype. More than a million players set sail on the open ocean within the first two days, crashing its servers at one point with all their plundering and pillaging.
"Sea of Thieves was the second best-selling game of March, and is the eighth best-selling game of 2018 year to date," said Piscatella. "Sea of Thieves generated the highest launch month sales for any title produced by developer Rare since tracking by The NPD Group began in 1995."
Along with Far Cry 5, other franchises also set launch month records. Sony's MLB 18: The Show and Hal Laboratory's Kirby: Star Allies both had the best-selling debuts in their series histories.
Kirby Star Allies has had the strongest debut month of sales in the U.S. in the franchises' history, according to The NPD Group. The Switch side-scroller had a 90 percent better debut month than 2002's Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland, which last held that distinction
The Kirby record is in terms of revenue
HARDWARE
Compared to March 2017, consumers spent less on hardware last month — $331 million, down 32 percent from $485 million. But year to date, hardware-spending is at a high, generating $925 million so far in 2018. This was driven mainly by Microsoft's Xbox One, though Sony's PlayStation 4 remains the best-selling console in March and 2018. The Nintendo Switch 32GB with red and blue Joycon controllers was the best-selling hardware in March and 2018.
While folks weren't spending as much on consoles last month, accessories saw an uptick thanks to the popularity of multiplayer games like certain wildly popular battle royale hits.
Full hardware notes. This should help.
Hardware
- Hardware spending in March 2018 declined 32 percent when compared to a year ago, to $331 million.
- For the 2018 year to date period, hardware spending has increased 13 percent to $925 million, driven by growth in Xbox One spending. This is the highest year to date total achieved since 2014.
- Sony's PlayStation 4 was the best-selling console hardware platform in March, and remains the best-selling console hardware platform year to date.
- The Nintendo Switch 32GB with Neon Red/Blue Joy-Con is the best-selling hardware item of both March as well as 2018 year to date.
RANKINGS
- Far Cry 5
- Sea Of Thieves
- MLB 18: The Show
- Kirby Star Allies*
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Mario Kart 8*
- Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
- NBA 2K18
- Monster Hunter: World
- Super Mario Odyssey*
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds**
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
- A Way Out**
- Assassin's Creed: Origins
- Dragon Ball: Fighterz
- FIFA 18**
- Splatoon 2*
- UFC 3
**No PC digital sales included
Xbox One
- Far Cry 5
- Sea Of Thieves
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Monster Hunter: World
- NBA 2K18
- A Way Out
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
- Assassin's Creed: Origins
- Far Cry 5
- MLB 18: The Show
- Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Monster Hunter: World
- Call of Duty: WWII
- NBA 2K18
- A Way Out
- Dragon Ball: Fighterz
- FIFA 18
- Kirby Star Allies
- Mario Kart 8
- Super Mario Odyssey
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Splatoon 2
- Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
- Pokken Tournament DX
- Bayonetta 2
- Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- ARMS
- Detective Pikachu
- Pokemon: Ultra Sun
- Pokemon: Ultra Moon
- Mario Kart 7
- Super Smash Bros.
- Minecraft
- Super Mario Maker
- Super Mario 3D Land
- Kirby: Battle Royale
- Mario Party: The Top 100
- Far Cry 5
- Monster Hunter: World
- Dragon Ball: Fighterz
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Grand Theft Auto V
- NBA 2K18
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds**
- Sea Of Thieves
- MLB 18: The Show
- Mario Kart 8*
- Call of Duty: WWII
- NBA 2K18
- Destiny 2**
- Madden NFL 18
- Super Mario Odyssey*
- Star Wars: Battlefront II 2017**
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Mario Kart 8*
- Assassin's Creed: Origins
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
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