Earlier today, industry-tracking firm The NPD Group released news that Microsoft’s Xbox One was the top-selling console in the United States for the month of April. This is a big win for Xbox One since PlayStation 4 has been topping sales charts for the previous few months. It was really important for Xbox One to be the top-selling console this month because E3 2015 is right around the corner. The momentum and press this will garner will only help them in June.
Microsoft issued a statement to the media about April’s Xbox One sales. The company said that console sales increased 63% in April 2015 compared to the same month last year. Xbox Live users also grew by 24% globally. With exclusive games like Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 6 and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition releasing this year, it’s a great time to be an Xbox One gamer.
As expected, Mortal Kombat X was the top-selling game in April followed by Grand Theft Auto V and Battlefield: Hardline. Minecraft, NBA 2K15, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection also made the list. Looking at this list makes me wonder how many copies Minecraft has sold on all platforms combined. I bet that number is staggering.
Xian He contributed 15 articles to ICXM in 2015, covering Xbox news with a focus on hands-on impressions and verified-source reporting. Their bylines on the site span the Xbox One’s first full year of post-launch coverage, including the early days of Backwards Compatibility and Windows 10 gaming.