The former NPD Group (now named “Circana”) has released its full North American sales data for April, which was a somewhat mixed bag of a month. Players spent $4.1 billion on games, additional content, and hardware in March, a 5 percent year-on-year decrease. Hardware sales were up 7 percent year-on-year, but software and content sales were down 6 percent. The red-hot PS5 was once again the #1 console in terms of both unit and dollar sales, followed by Switch and Xbox Series X/S.
On the software front, the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor debuted at #1, jumping to #4 on the overall 2023 sales charts despite only being on sale for two days in April. Meanwhile, Dead Island 2 debuted with a strong #2 placing on the charts, which Embracer Group has to be pleased about considering the game’s troubled development history. Other new games on the list include EA PGA Tour at #7, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection at #8, Minecraft Legends at #11, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster I – VI Collection at #14, and Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp at #15. In other news, Hogwarts Legacy is perhaps not showing the legs some expected, as the game dropped down to the #6 position in April.
Here are April’s top 20 games according to Circana:
1 – Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
2 – Dead Island 2
3 – MLB The Show 23
4 – Resident Evil 4
5 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
6 – Hogwarts Legacy
7 – EA Sports PGA Tour
8 – Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection
9 – FIFA 23
10 – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
11 – Minecraft Legends
12 – Elden Ring
13 – Minecraft
14 – Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster I – VI Collection
15 – Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp
16 – New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
17 – The Last of Us Part I
18 – Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
19 – Madden NFL 23
20 – Super Mario 3D World Deluxe
And here are the top games of 2023 to date:
1 – Hogwarts Legacy
2 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
3 – Resident Evil 4
4 – Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
5 – MLB The Show 23
6 – Dead Island 2
7 – Dead Space
8 – FIFA 23
9 – Madden NFL 23
10 – Elden Ring
What are your thoughts on the April NPD/Circana charts? Any big surprises or things you’re happy to see?
