State Of Decay 2, PS4 Win The Sales War For May, 2018 NPD Chart
State of Decay 2

The numbers are in (well, not really, but the rankings are in) and it’s been revealed that Undead Labs’ State of Decay 2 managed to top the software sales charts for retail purchases during them month of May. And even though Xbox One and Nintendo Switch had strong sales in May, the high numbers still weren’t enough to topple the multiple SKUs and slashed prices of the PS4.

VentureBeat rolled through the numbers, where they noted that May’s total revenue was up 13% compared to May, 2017, with this year’s numbers totaling $685 million in revenue.

Almost across the board all categories in gaming are up by double digit percentages compared to last year… except for the software. The software is only up by 7%, barely beating out the May offerings from 2017. It’s no surprise given that software lately has focused almost entirely on sociopolitical agitprop from the major studios, and the AA studios may shift lots of product but they’re usually priced lower, so the total revenue intake likely won’t entirely balance out as gamers continue the trend of shifting away from AAA titles.

Nevertheless, State of Diversity 2 managed to top out the sales charts for May, followed closely by God of War and Detroit: Become Human.

Top 20 Software Sales

  1. State of Decay 2
  2. God of War 2018
  3. Detroit: Become Human
  4. Far Cry 5
  5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze*
  6. Grand Theft Auto V
  7. Hyrule Warriors Definitive Ed*
  8. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
  9. Mario Kart 8*
  10. NBA 2K18
  11. MLB 18: The Show
  12. Call of Duty: WWII
  13. Super Mario Odyssey*
  14. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
  15. FIFA 18**
  16. Overwatch**
  17. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
  18. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
  19. Assassin’s Creed: Origins
  20. Monster Hunter: World

If you’re curious why Overwatch is on the list, it’s not because it’s a great game but because the anniversary editions were made available along with special events featured throughout May. So gamers who likely missed out on the game two years ago decided to bite the bullet and give a try.

Hilariously enough, a lot of the list is still filled out with games released last year, save for MLB: The Show, Detroit: Become Human, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Far Cry 5, State of Decay 2 and Monster Hunter: World.

So 70% of the top 20-selling titles of May, 2018 were not released in 2018.

Either the other games have long tail-ends or 2018 has had a paltry first-half of offerings so far.

Unfortunately we don’t get any info on the hardware numbers but we do know that the PS4 has continued to maintain its number one selling streak. A low price of entry point for the vanilla PS4 and frequent bundle deals has allowed it to keep a pace ahead of the competition. Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter mentioned during an E3 discussion with Geoff Keighley that Nintendo seems reluctant to cut the price on the Switch, but if they do then they’ll likely start beating the PS4 in month-to-month sales. He also noted that if Nintendo doesn’t slash the price soon, things could start looking bleak for the long term.


