NPD: Injustice and Dead Island lead sales in April

Total sales down 25% YOY

_{[DC zombie sculpts by Casey Love Designs]}

The NPD Group released US sales data for April 2013 two days ago, but a complete lack of enthusiasm on the part of the Destructoid staff has delayed our posting it. Not our fault! Look at the information below! It’s just so… boring!

DC crossover fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us came out on top, while the middling Dead Island Riptide managed a silver medal performance. Somehow, even Trion Worlds’ MMO TV tie-in Defiance eked a top 10 performance, which completely mystifies me.

Only Microsoft was willing to provide hardware numbers — 130,000 units for Xbox 360 — but at least Nintendo was willing to share some software deets. Combining digital and retail versions, LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins sold 94,000 copies; Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon scored 140,000 in April for a two-month total of 530,000; and New Super Mario Bros. U hit 770,000 after six months on the market.

Overall, the industry made $425.2 million, a decline of 25% from April 2012. This is clearly the result of fewer game releases as we transition into the upcoming generation. Like I said in the beginning, boring and hardly surprising. Regardless, do check the full top 10 list below.

Top 10 software chart (SKUs combined)

1. Injustice: Gods Among Us (360, PS3, Wii U)
2. Dead Island Riptide (360, PS3, PC)
3. BioShock Infinite (360, PS3, PC)
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
5. Defiance (360, PS3, PC)
6. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)
7. NBA 2K13 (360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
8. Skylanders Giants (Wii, 360, PS3, 3DS, Wii U)
9. Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins (3DS)
10. MLB 13: The Show (PS3, Vita)

Superheroes and zombies couldn’t save U.S. game retail in April [Gamasutra]