The NPD Group has once again released sales figures for the past month, and the story in August was pretty much the same as every other month in 2012 so far: a handful of titles managed to do some good business, but overall sales within the industry continue to fall.
Darksiders 2 snagged the top spot in August. THQ’s genre-combining sequel seems guaranteed to outperform its cult classic prequel, as overwhelming positive reviews propelled Darksiders 2 to over 247,000 units sold. It’s worth noting that The NPD doesn’t track digital sales (such as Steam,) so there’s a good chance that DS2 managed to sell even more units than reported. The game’s strong performance is a win for the newly revamped THQ, a company which began the year with mounting losses, layoffs, and almost came close to being delisted from the stock exchange.
In a close second was New Super Mario Bros. 2, which managed to sell 240k in August. The masses still love Mario, despite the fact that NSMB2 seems to have gotten a significantly colder reception from hardcore fans and press alike than previous Mario games. Like Darksiders 2, NSMB2 was also available for download (a first for Nintendo,) so the NPD’s numbers might be underselling this game’s performance as well. Despite fan opinion being divided on the game (some think it’s just fine, others think the series is finally beginning to feel a little tired,) the strong sales of NSMB2 might be a good sign for the Wii U, as that system is scheduled to launch alongside a very similar looking Mario game later this Fall.
The rest of the top 10 is as follows:
- Darksiders 2 (360, PS3, PC)
- New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)
- Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)
- NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3)
- Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSV, PC)
- Sleeping Dogs (360, PS3)
- Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (360, PS3)
- Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC)
- The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3, NDS, 3DS, Wii)
September marks the beginning of the fall rush, and in October has mega-popular sequels Resident Evil 6 and Assassin’s Creed 3 in its line-up, so hopefully the industry’s luck will turn around as the holiday season gears up.
Source: The NPD Group, via Joystiq