March 2017 NPD: Ghost Recon, Zelda & Switch Help Industry Sales Rise 24%

Thanks to a strong month that saw Ghost Recon Wildlands, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mass Effect Andromeda, Horizon Zero Dawn, and the Nintendo Switch, total industry sales in the United States during March 2017 were up 24% year-on-year to $1.36 billion.

By category, hardware was up 91% to $485 million, software was up 5% to $612 million, PC games were down 25% to $29 million, and accessories were up 9% to $231 million.

NPD analyst Sam Naji said, “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.” The Switch sold more than 900,000 units last month, and topped the Game Boy Advance’s launch by 31,000 units.

Looking at software, Ghost Recon Wildlands was the #1 game of March, though it’s worth noting that digital sales weren’t tracked for Zelda. Wildlands saw the best launch of any Ghost Recon game, and the second best launch of any Tom Clancy game (behind The Division).

Elsewhere on the software chart, Mass Effect Andromeda finished in 3rd for the month, and saw the second best launch in franchise history (behind Mass Effect 3). Horizon Zero Dawn, meanwhile, placed in 4th and “was the developer’s best launch ever, selling twice as much as its next best title, Killzone Shadow Fall.”

Here’s the top 20 best-selling games of March 2017 in the US through physical and digital retailers, keeping in mind that digital sales aren’t included for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, MLB The Show 17, 1-2 Switch, or Super Bomberman R:

1. Ghost Recon Wildlands
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3. Mass Effect Andromeda
4. Horizon Zero Dawn
5. MLB The Show 17
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. For Honor
8. NBA 2K17
9. NieR: Automata
10. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
11. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix
12. Battlefield 1
13. 1-2 Switch
14. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
15. Overwatch
16. Rainbow Six: Siege
17. Super Bomberman R
18. FIFA 17
19. LEGO Worlds
20. Madden NFL 17

And here’s the top 10 best-selling PS4 games of March 2017 in the US:

1. Ghost Recon Wildlands
2. Horizon Zero Dawn
3. Mass Effect Andromeda
4. MLB The Show 17
5. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix
6. NieR: Automata
7. Grand Theft Auto V
8. NBA 2K17
9. For Honor
10. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

With such a strong launch, Ghost Recon Wildlands has become the #1 best-selling game of 2017 so far:

1. Ghost Recon Wildlands
2. For Honor
3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
4. Resident Evil 7 biohazard
5. Mass Effect Andromeda
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. Horizon Zero Dawn
8. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
9. NBA 2K17
10. Battlefield 1

Ghost Recon is also the 9th best-selling game of the last 12 months (April 2016 to March 2017):

1. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
2. Battlefield 1
3. NBA 2K17
4. Madden NFL 17
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. Overwatch
7. FIFA 17
8. Final Fantasy XV
9. Ghost Recon Wildlands
10. Dark Souls 3

Are you surprised by the success of Wildlands?

[Source: Games Industry, Venture Beat, NeoGAF]