The NPD group recently released their figures for the top 10 best selling game sales in the month of April. Total sales for games dipped compared to last year with NPD Group analyst Mat Piscatella stating:
“April 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories totaled $4.6 billion, a decline of 2% when compared to a year ago,”
A two percent decline is pretty minor if you compare the state of the world then and now. April 2020 marked growing concerns of Covid as well as people staying at home during lockdowns.
It might not be shocking to find that leading the list of games is MLB: The Show 21. For the first time in the franchises history it saw release on an Xbox console. The most popular Baseball game on the market, the access to the new market definitely helped in sales. The game saw the top spot for PlayStation sales as well, showcasing its popularity.
Other new games to make the list this month are New Pokemon Snap, NieR: Replicant, and Returnal at three, five, and eight respectively. Returnal, which Released April 30th, has clearly had a good few weeks as it was able to break top 10 in sales so quickly.
Mortal Kombat 11 also sold well during the month of April as well. Anticipation for the Mortal Kombat movie, released April 23rd, clear had a positive effect for the franchise.
Games which were included in Marchs report included are the looter-shooter Outriders, co-op marriage counselor It Takes Two, and monster hunting game Monster Hunter: Rise. Outriders and Monster Hunter both dropped in position from their previous month. It Takes Two on the other hand has finally found its footing, rising from 22 all the way to 9. Note: While Outrides released April 1st, that was included in their March figures.
Call of Duty: Black ops: Cold War and Mario Kart 8 also appear. These two games have consistently placed high in terms of sales.
You can view the list for yourself here.
