Market research firm NPD has released last month’s video game retails sales figures, with THQ’s Darksiders II leading overall software sales.
The action-RPG sold about 247,000 units, and was followed by two 3DS titles: New Super Mario Bros. 2 (about 240,000 units moved) and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (about 180,000 units moved).
Game sales continued to decline on the whole, dropping 20 percent from this time last year, and going from about $647 million to about $516 million.
Nintendo, however, did show signs of great success. The company reports that 3DS hardware sales increased 36 percent over last month’s figures, while 3DS software sales went up by 68 percent over the same time frame. The former can largely be attributed to the release of the new 3DS XL hardware, while the latter is mostly due the aforementioned pair of high-charting releases.
NPD’s reporting period for last month went from July 29 to August 25, which explains why Madden NFL 13 (released on August 28) is noticeably missing from the charts. That juggernaut reportedly sold 900,000 copies in its first 24 hours alone, and has reached 1.65 million units sold in its first week, a staggering number that makes it the fastest-selling Madden NFL title of this generation. Expect the yearly football sim to chart highly next month.
Here are the top ten best-selling games of August, according to NPD:
1. Darksiders II (360, PS3, PC)
2. New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)
3. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)
4. NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3)
5. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSV, PC)
6. Sleeping Dogs (360, PS3)
7. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (360, PS3)
8. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC)
10. The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3, NDS, 3DS, Wii)