Entertainment
Xbox had its best June ever in the US – still beaten by Switch
A month in which everyone was happy? (pic: Metro)
The Xbox Series X/S had one of its best ever months in June, as Ratchet &Clank: Rift Apart was the best-selling game.
While the information given for video game sales is always frustratingly incomplete last month’s data from the US illustrates one thing very clearly: all three consoles are doing extremely well, despite, or perhaps because of, the fact they’re all very different.
The NPD results for June in the US were Microsoft’s best ever for that month, with any model of Xbox – beating a record set as long ago as June 2011, during the Xbox 360 era.
But while the Xbox Series X was the best-selling console by revenue the Nintendo Switch sold the most consoles, although that suggests that it must have been very close in both directions.
The Switch remains the best-selling console of 2021 in terms of both revenues and unit sales, but the PlayStation 5 is still the fastest selling home console in US history.
Sales of the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 remain largely irrelevant while both are still selling out as soon as stock is available, but Sony did have something new to celebrate in June, with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart debuting at number one in the software sales charts.
More: Games news
The other big new entry was Mario Golf: Super Rush, which in terms of revenues was the biggest launch ever for a Mario Golf game, beating Toadstool Tour from 2003.
In other words, all three console formats had something to celebrate, as underlined by the fact that hardware revenues increased 112% compared to June 2020, with consumer spending for video games in general up 5% to $4.9 billion (£3.55 billion).
U.S. all formats chart – June
1 (-) Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5)
2 (4) Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (XO/PS4/XSX/PS5)
3 (-) Mario Golf: Super Rush* (NS)
4 (3) MLB The Show 21 (XO/PS4/XSX/PS5)^
5 (-) Scarlet Nexus (XO/PS4/XSX/PS5/PC)
6 (1) Resident Evil Village (XO/PS4/XSX/PS5/PC)
7 (7) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NS)*
8 (10) Minecraft (multi)
9 (12) Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS4/PS5)
10 (6) Mortal Kombat 11 (XO/PS4/NS/XSX/PS5/PC)
*does not include digital sales
^Xbox digital sales not included
Note: U.S. charts are organised by revenue, not unit sales
The NPD Group/NPD Funworld
Email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter
MORE : Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart back as UK number one – Games charts 10 July
MORE : Mario Golf: Super Rush enjoys second week at UK number one – Games charts 3 July
MORE : Mario Golf: Super Rush knocks Ratchet & Clank from UK number one – Games charts 26 June
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
