Watch Dogs and Mario pace June sales

Many experts around gaming circles have quipped that console gaming may be coming to an end, and we may be experiencing the last time that consoles, and games on them, are relevant.  In looking at the June NPD sales numbers, those reports couldn’t be further from the truth.  Thanks to the hacking fun of Watch Dogs and the racing excitement of Mario Kart 8, June was a big month for games.

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Backed by a strong June of sales numbering 470,000 units, Mario Kart 8 watched its lifetime sales numbers total to 885,000.

While the highly anticipated Watch Dogs and Mario Kart 8 were expected to sell well from the get go, more interesting is the consistent success of sports games.  EA’s newest UFC title did well notching a spot in the top 10, as well as watching FIFA 14 continue to go strong (backed in large part by the World Cup).  2K Sports NBA franchise, NBA 2K14, also continued to see strong numbers.

NPD’s Liam Callahan noted that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are driving console sales currently, and that as a whole, they are up 106 percent.  While handheld sales are down, Callahan said, “Combined sales of Xbox One and PS4 are over 80 percent higher than the combined totals for Xbox 360 and PS3 – an indication of the strength of the start of this new console generation.”

The Sony PlayStation 4 continues to be the best-selling console, along with having the most games purchased on the platform.  Check out the full list below.

June 2014 Top 10 Games

1 Watch Dogs (PS4, 360, XBO, PS3, PC)

2 Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

3 Minecraft (360, PS4)

4 UFC (PS4, XBO)

5 FIFA 14 (PS4, 360, XBO, PS3, Vita)

6 NBA 2K14 (360, PS3, PS4, XBO, PC)

7 Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)

8 Call of Duty: Ghosts (360, PS4, PS3, XBO, Wii U, PC)

9 Tomodachi Life (3DS)

10 Grand Theft Auto V (360, PS3)