Let's get the bad news out of the way first. US retail software sales saw a massive decline of 26 per cent in March compared to March 2011. Even worse were the dropping hardware sales that were down 35 per cent compared to last year. While no numbers were released for PS Vita during its second month on the market it is clear that it hasn't helped turn things around for the industry. All hardware platforms sold less on a per week average compared to last March, but Microsoft are no doubt celebrating their 15th straight month as the top selling piece of hardware in the States.
On the upside Mass Effect 3 sold a whopping 1.18 million copies in its first month, outperforming the release month of Mass Effect 2 by a margin of 2 to 1. The Xbox 360 version sold 4 times as many copies as the PS3 version, no doubt a result of the previous exclusivity of the franchise.
Outside of the games listed in the chart it should be noted that Kid Icarus: Uprising on Nintendo 3DS would have been in the top ten if it had been counted per individual SKU, and Skylanders Spyro's Adventure placed 15, while the character packs continue to do well in the peripherals chart.
Software (March):
1. Mass Effect 3 / Multi / EA
2. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City / Multi / Capcom
3. MLB 12: The Show / PS3 / Sony
4. NBA 2K12 / Multi / 2K Games
5. SSX / Multi / EA
6. NBA 2K12 / Multi / 2K Games
7. Street Fighter X Tekken / Multi / Capcom
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 / Multi / Activision
9. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Generations / Multi / Namco
10. Major League Baseball 2K12 / Multi / 2K Games
Hardware (March):
1. Xbox 360 371 000
2. Playstation 3 337 000
3. Nintendo 3DS 225 000
4. Wii 175 000
Källa: NPD Funworld