This month saw lower sales than June 2012, but thankfully, things improved after last month’s terrible performance. The highest ten best selling retail games from last month tell an enticing story. As a reminder, NPD only tracks retail sales within the Usa. It’s valuable as a slice of the image and for identifying trends, but it surely will never be all-encompassing yet.

1. The Last People (PS3)
2. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
3. Minecraft (360)
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
5. NBA 2K13 (360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
6. Injustice: Gods Among Us (360, PS3, Wii U)
7. Donkey Kong Country Returns (3DS, Wii)
8. Deadpool (360, PS3)
9. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
10. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)

This marks the primary time on this generation that the head three spots were held by first-party platform exclusives from three different parties. All three of those titles were also available digital simultaneously with retail release (or on the subject of Minecraft, before).

Nintendo is boasting 225,000 3DS handhelds sold, making it the most productive-selling online game hardware within the U.s.. Here is up from 155,000 in June 2012 bolstered by a robust lineup that incorporates Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Project X Zone. The previous stormed to the number two position.

Thankfully for Microsoft, handhelds are in a separate category. Which means that the Xbox 360 holds onto its record of being within the top console spot (making this 30 months running).

Microsoft sold 140,000 Xbox 360 consoles, up from 114,000 last month, but down from 257,000 units in the course of the same period last year. June 2011 to June 2012 saw a 49 percent drop. This year is even worse, with a 54 percent plummet.

Total online game sales are down 15 percent year-over-year from $700.6 million to $593.3 million. Thankfully, this an uptick over last month’s abysmal performance of $386.3 million.

Hardware is down 30 percent year-over-year from $201.5 million to $142 million. Console software is down only 10 percent from $328.8 million to $296.1 million, with PC software sales (already a small slice of purchases) only accounting for an extra $17.7 million. Accessories are another time down, this time 9 percent from $170.3 million to $155.2 million. 

Additionally, the Ouya was mentioned inside the NPD Report for the primary time. “June 2012 was the primary month of retail sales for Ouya (not counting direct sales through ouya.tv) and were relatively light for a brand new console,” said NPD analyst Liam Callahan.  “This can be because of the loss of a chief marquee title driving consumers to find the console, low awareness as a result of Ouya being a brand new brand, or low inventory volume as a result of manufacturing constraints.”

Our Take
Sales of hardware and software are still flagging, and it’ll be extremely interesting to get a broader perspective once digital sales are included. The computer segment is large, and plenty of gamers favor to use Steam, GoG, and other digital delivery platforms.

The 3DS is showing itself for the powerhouse that it’s, selling significantly more year-over-year, and carrying the number two spot with an off-the-cuff game. With the inclusion of recent Streetpass games (on the way to continue to inspire people to hold their consoles) and a powerful lineup that incorporates Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Pokemon X & Y, and Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, this year is purely looking better for Nintendo at the handheld front.

The Last people is no surprise to determine within the top spot, but to take action at this time is of particular note. New intellectual properties typically do significantly better early in a cycle. The success of The Last folks is testament to Naughty Dog’s skill. While i could not need to see a sequel to this game for narrative reasons, i’m absolutely watching for regardless of the Uncharted studio does next (yes, that was a touch).