March 2018 NPD Numbers Showcase Far Cry 5’s Dominance

Even though Ubisoft's Far Cry 5 came out at the end of the month, the long-anticipated sequel had no trouble dominating March 2018's sales numbers.

The NPD has revealed the sales numbers for last month, and even though they're slightly lower than the previous year, several big games dominated throughout March.

The report indicates that games and consoles generated around $1.32 billion for the month, but that's down 11 percent from the previous year. That said, spending for 2018 is still well above where it was for 2017, reaching $3.41 billion -- a nice increase over the $2.98 billion over the same month last year.

Ubisoft's Far Cry 5 became the best-selling game for the month, despite only being out for a few days. But it was joined by a few other surprise favorites, including Microsoft's Sea of Thieves, which debuted in the number two position; Sony's MLB the Show 18, in a third place spot; and Kirby Star Allies for the Nintendo Switch, which found a fourth place slot. EA's A Way Out also did reasonably well a little lower down on the list. (Kirby, by the way, earned90% more in revenue than the previous record holder for the series, setting a new record!)

As far as monthly numbers go, both hardware and PC/console software saw drops, with $331 million in hardware sold (down from $485 million) and $613 million in sales (down from $682 million). On the other hand, accessories are doing better, with $372 million sold (compared to $310 million.)

"Far Cry 5 debuts as the top-selling title of March 2018 and instantly becomes the best-selling title of 2018," NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. "Far Cry 5 set a new launch month sales record for the Far Cry franchise, with consumer spending on full-game sales nearly doubling that of previous franchise best, Far Cry 3. Publisher Ubisoft is the leading publisher in both March and 2018 year to date (January through March)."

Here are the top twenty best sellers for the month:

1. Far Cry 5
2. Sea Of Thieves
3. MLB 18: The Show
4. Kirby Star Allies*
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. Call of Duty: WWII
7. Mario Kart 8*
8. Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
9. NBA 2K18
10. Monster Hunter: World
11. Super Mario Odyssey*
12. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
13. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds**
14. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
15. A Way Out**
16. Assassin's Creed: Origins
17. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
18. FIFA 18**
19. Splatoon 2*
20. UFC 3

Games with asterisks indicate that no digital sales were included, and ones with two asterisks didn't include PC games. That means PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is doing just fine based on Xbox One numbers.

We'll see how April's game numbers fare when God of War makes its debut on the charts.