“This is the fourth month of year-over-year increases so far in 2015 for software,” NPD analyst Liam Callahan wrote. “Through the first half of the year, software is up 3 percent. With a strong lineup of games for the remainder of the year, there is the potential for a positive growth in the second half of the year as well.”
“Sales of Arkham Knight slightly exceeded October 2011 sales of Batman: Arkham City, which is remarkable considering the difference in hardware install bases,” said Callahan.
“If sales were included from hardware bundles, Arkham Knight is the best-selling game of 2015 so far,” said the NPD analyst.
“With hits like Batman: Arkham Knight, The Witcher 3, Mortal Kombat X, and Dying Light, Warner Bros. Interactive is the top corporate publisher so far in 2015, with dollar sales growing 217 percent versus the first half of 2014,” said Callahan.
“Hardware sales grew by 8 percent overall,” said Callahan. “Eighth-generation consoles [like PS4 and Xbox One] are leading the way with 15 percent growth over June 2014, offsetting declines in seventh-generation and portable hardware sales.”
"The NPD also points out that hardware sales have changed compared to last year. In June 2014, only 35 percent of all console sales were bundled with a game. That’s opposed to June 2015, where bundles made up 82 percent of all hardware sales."
