Nintendo NES Classic Dominates PS4 And Xbox One With Skyrocketing Monthly Console Unit Sales
Much to the dismay of gamers, new and old, Nintendo abruptly stopped production of its wildly popular NES Classic Edition console last year before it had a chance to satiate demand. It was an unpopular decision, one that Nintendo rectified when it brought the throwback console back to life this past June. Nintendo made the right move, as evidenced by the sales—the NES Classic was the top selling game console in June, according to tracking data release by NPD Group.
That is in terms of unit sales, and it is especially notable because it is the first time an NES system has led in monthly unit sales since NPD starting tracking such data way back in 1995, according to Mat Piscatella, an analyst with NPD Group. The unit sales feat underscores how popular retro gaming is, and in particular the love that gamers have for Nintendo's older systems.
US NPD HW - The NES Classic was June 2018's highest unit-selling hardware platform, while the PlayStation 4 led the market in dollar sales. This is the first time a Nintendo Entertainment System console has led in monthly unit sales since NPD tracking began in 1995.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) August 1, 2018
While Sony and Microsoft were not able to move more hardware than Nintendo's miniature box, Sony did claim a victory in dollars. The PlayStation 4 led the market in console revenue. And for Microsoft, the company's Xbox One dollar sales nearly doubled in June compared to a year ago.
It was a great month for gaming in general. Nintendo's Switch sales jumped over 50 percent, and dollar sales for all other hardware grew more than 23x year-over-year, driven by the NES Classic and SNES Classic. Total spending across hardware, software, and accessories came to $1.1 billion, up 25 percent compared to a year ago.
Gaming is as strong as ever, though who would have thought that a pair of retro remakes would generate so much interest and contribute so heavily to overall growth? After seeing Nintendo be so successful with its NES Classic and SNES Classic, other companies are trying to catch lightning in a bottle with modern remakes of classic machines as well. One of the more prominent attempts is Retro Games releasing The C64 Mini based on the original Commodore 64.
Have you purchased a remade classic console, or plan to? Let us know what you think about the retro revival in the comments section below!
