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The Switch continues to soar as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was the best-selling game in April 2017
Nintendo continues to dominate the retail charts with another strong showing in April for their Switch console. According to The NPD Group, Nintendo added another 280,000 Switch consoles to its tally last month, and the newly-launched Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold more than 459,000 copies (in just two days) to take the top spot on the list of best-selling games. The company’s success also seems to be great for the industry as a whole, as the industry generated $636 million in sales in April 2017, a 10% increase over the year before.
The other big news in April is that Persona 5 pushed the franchise and gave the RPG the #2 spot on the best-seller list, just below Mario Kart 8.
“Persona 5 experienced the strongest debut month for any title in Persona franchise history, with packaged dollar sales five times that of the previous best-selling debut, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4,” NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella told GamesIndustry.biz.
Additional new releases were thin on the ground in last month’s Top 20, but Lego Undercover‘s re-release on the PC and current-generation consoles helped it secure a spot (#13). And as expected, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild continued to sell well, landing in the #3 position for the month. But the big retail winners in April all came from the backlist, including Grand Theft Auto V (#6), Overwatch (#9), Call of Duty: Black Ops II (#10), and Minecraft (#20).
The NPD Group’s complete list of best-selling games for April 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, For Honor, Grand Theft Auto V, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMix, Lego City Undercover, Lego Worlds, Mario Kart 8, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Minecraft, MLB The Show 17, NBA 2K17, Nier: Automata, NPD, Overwatch, Persona 5, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
Nintendo smashed sales records in March 2017… but Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the top-selling game
Nintendo told us all about their record-setting sales month last week, but the NPD Group made it official today when they revealed their retail report on the video game industry for March 2017.
NPD analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz: “March 2017 will go down in history books as the month Nintendo broke records.The Nintendo Switch had the biggest hardware launch for a Nintendo platform and the second biggest launch for any video game platform since 1995, the time NPD began tracking this category.”
However, even though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild managed to sell more than 900,000 copies, it wasn’t able to secure the #1 spot. Instead, Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the best-selling game last month, likely due to Nintendo’s unwillingness to share their digital sales figures with the NPD Group. Other strong sellers on the Switch included 1-2 Switch (#13) and Super Bomberman R (#17).
Big debuts weren’t limited to Nintendo’s Switch, and it was a banner month for several new releases last month, as Mass Effect: Andromeda (#3), Horizon: Zero Dawn (#4), and Nier: Automata (#9) also smashed expectations. Combined with impressive Switch hardware sales, these games helped the industry record more than $1.36 billion in total sales for the month, a 24% year-on-year increase over March 2016.
The complete list of best-selling games from March 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged 1-2-Switch, Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, FIFA 17, For Honor, Grand Theft Auto V, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix, Lego Worlds, Madden NFL 17, Mass Effect: Andromeda, MLB The Show 17, NBA 2K17, Nier: Automata, NPD, Overwatch, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Super Bomberman R, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
Overwatch goes back to the past and revisits Tracer’s first mission in the new Uprising event
Blizzard is taking the world of Overwatch back to the past with the new “Uprising” event, which begins today and will be available until May 1st. Players will travel back to the heyday of the Overwatch, and relive Tracer’s first mission in a special cooperative brawl mode.
As you might have guessed, the “Uprising” event will also feature more than 100 themed Loot Boxes containing new Skins, Highlights, Emotes, and Sprays:
Relive Tracer’s First Mission
Journey seven years into the past and join a group of Overwatch agents fighting through the streets of King’s Row to quell an uprising led by Null Sector, a rogue group of omnics. Team up with your friends and play as Tracer, Torbjorn, Reinhardt, or Mercy to defeat the robots and liberate the city. There are no reinforcements. Failure is not an option. The future depends on you.Experience a pivotal moment in history from before the fall of Overwatch. Join a strike team of Overwatch agents — including the newest recruit, Tracer — as they undertake a vital mission to stop an omnic uprising in King’s Row. Drop into the action and play as one of the four charged with completing this critical objective.
More information about the “Uprising” event can be found at PlayOverwatch.com. And two additional videos, a new “Origin Story” trailer and another “Developer Update” with Director Jeff Kaplan, can also be found after the break. (more…)
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End named “Best Game” at 2017 BAFTA Games Awards
Nathan Drake is going to ride off into the sunset with one last “Game of the Year” award. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosted the ceremony for the 2017 BAFTA Games Awards last night, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was selected as the year’s “Best Game.”
Playdead’s Inside didn’t win the big prize, but the indie game scooped up four BAFTAs including “Artistic Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Narrative,” and “Original Property.” Ghost Town’s Overcooked (“Best British Game” and “Family”) and Campo Santo’s Firewatch (“Debut Game” and “Performer” for Cissy Jones) also managed to collect multiple awards as part of the festivities.
A whole slew of titles were able to pull out a win in one category last night, and they include That Dragon Cancer (“Game Innovation”), Rocket League (“Evolving Game”), Overwatch (“Multiplayer”), Pokemon Go (“Mobile & Handheld”), The Last Guardian (“Audio Achievement”), and Virginia (“Music”).
A complete list of winners and nominees from the 2017 BAFTA Games Awards is available at Video Game Canon.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Firewatch, Inside, Overwatch, Pokemon Go, Rocket League, The Last Guardian, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Play as Orisa in Overwatch beginning today
Overwatch players can now choose from 24 different Heroes before each match, as Blizzard added Orisa to the game on all platforms earlier today. According to her profile on PlayOverwatch.com, Orisa is a robotic centaur with a defensive-minded play style, but don’t worry, her attacks also pack a wallop:
Orisa’s Abilities
- Fusion Driver: Orisa’s automatic projectile cannon delivers sustained damage, but slows her movement while she fires it.
- Fortify: Orisa temporarily reduces damage she takes, and cannot be affected by action-impairing effects.
- Halt!: Orisa launches a graviton charge which she can detonate, slowing nearby enemies and pulling them towards the explosion.
- Protective Barrier: Orisa throws out a stationary barrier that can protect her and her allies from enemy fire.
- Supercharger: Orisa deploys a device to increase damage inflicted by allies within her line of sight.
Blizzard also released a new trailer for Overwatch featuring Orisa, and it’s been embedded above for your viewing pleasure.
Uncharted 4 wins “Video Game of the Year” at the 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards
Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was named “Video Game of the Year” at the 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards last night, finally putting an end to Overwatch‘s winning streak. Nathan Drake’s final adventure also earned the big prize in the “Excellence in Narrative” and “Excellence in Animation” categories, and the treasure hunter himself won for “Most Memorable Character.”
However, don’t feel too bad for Blizzard, Overwatch took home three SXSW Gamnig Awards including “Esports Game of the Year,” “Most Promising New Intellectual Property,” and “Excellence in Multiplayer.”
The WWE’s Austin “Xavier Woods” Creed hosted the 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards, and he also handed out statuettes to a wide variety of other games including Pokemon Go (“Mobile Game of the Year”), Doom (“Excellence in Gameplay” and “Excellence in Musical Score”), Battlefield 1 (“Excellence in Technical Achievement” and “Excellence in SFX”), and Dishonored 2 (“Excellence in Design”). And this year’s “Tabletop Game of the Year” award was given to Fantasy Flight’s Arkham Horror: The Card Game.
You can find all the winners from last night’s SXSW Gaming Awards show at Video Game Canon.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: The Telltale Series, Battlefield 1, Dishonored 2, Doom (2016), Firewatch, Overwatch, Pokemon Go, Tabletop Games, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
For Honor rises to the occasion as the best-selling game of February 2017
Ubisoft’s For Honor conquered all comers during its first month of availability, as The NPD Group declared it the best-selling game during February 2017. The multiplayer brawler faced some tough competition, but it emerged victorious on the retail battlefield, besting both Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (#2) and Grand Theft Auto V (#3).
The only other new release to crack last month’s top ten was Nioh, an action RPG developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo.
But the overall retail health of the industry was on a downward swing in February. According to GamesIndustry.biz, hardware and software sales were down: “Total hardware sales amounted to $204 million, down 30% from last year. Console and portable software dropped 14% to $344.2 million, PC software fell 26% to just $25 million, while accessories fell 21% to $150.8 million. All told, industry sales took a 21% hit, declining from $918.7 million to $724 million.”
However, it seems likely that the successful launch of the Nintendo Switch (and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) will change that trajectory in March.
The complete list of best-selling games from February 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, For Honor, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 17, NBA 2K17, Nioh, NPD, Overwatch, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
Uncharted 4 leads all games at the 2017 BAFTA Games Awards with 8 nominations
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominees for the 2017 Games Awards, which will be handed out in a special ceremony in London on April 6. Viewers at home will be able to watch a livestream of ceremony through BAFTA’s Twitch channel.
This year’s top nominee is Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which scored eight nominations including “Game of the Year.” Nathan Drake’s final adventure will also compete in the “Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Music,” and “Narrative” categories, as well as with three separate nominations in the “Performer” category (Troy Baker, Nolan North, and Emily Rose).
Uncharted 4 will fight for BAFTA’s “Game of the Year” honor against five other critically-acclaimed games from 2016 including Campo Santo’s Firewatch, Playdead’s Inside, Blizzard’s Overwatch, Concerned Ape’s Stardew Valley, and Respawn’s Titanfall 2.
The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Firewatch, Inside, Overwatch, Pokemon Go, Rocket League, Stardew Valley, The Last Guardian, TitanFall 2, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End