NPD Group: PlayStation 4 Ahead of Xbox One, Far Cry Primal Leads Software

The PlayStation 4 from Sony continues to be the best-selling home console on the United States retail market for the month of February 2016, ahead of the Xbox One from Microsoft, but neither of the two companies is willing to offer exact numbers about their devices.



Overall industry spending for the period was down by 12 percent, according to data compiled by NeoGAF, when compared to the same period of last year, and for hardware the decline is even steeper, with a 23% lower value caused by a decline in sales of the PS3 and the Xbox 360 and limited impact from the 3DS and the Wii U.
The PlayStation 4 is up year-over-year, but the Xbox One has been sold at a lower price, because of bundles and other deals, which means that even current-gen consoles are performing worse than they did before.
Neither of the two involved companies is saying whether they want to take action, like introducing a price cut, to make sure that they boost sales for their platforms for the rest of 2016.
The NPD Group is only tracking physical sales at the moment so Sony and Microsoft might be satisfied with the number of consoles that they deliver to gamers via their own sites and those of their partners.
Far Cry Primal is the best-selling video game of February The new open world title from Ubisoft has managed to put in a solid performance during its first month and sits at the top of the chart, despite complaints that the experience lacks a solid narrative and that it uses the same map of Far Cry 4.
The rest of the podium is occupied by titles that were offered first in 2015, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 from Treyarch and Activision, and Grand Theft Auto V, from Rockstar and Take Two.
The February software top ten also includes: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm, NBA 2K16, LEGO Marvel Avengers, Street Fighter V, Minecraft, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, and Fallout 4.
There are bigger releases coming in March, including The Division from Ubisoft and the first episode of the first new Hitman title, and that will probably boost the overall market and stop the decline, which shows sales are down by 10 percent when compared to February last year.
Both Sony and Microsoft might also use bundles and new features delivered via firmware updates to make potential customers more interested in current-gen gaming.