Dead Space 3 was February's biggest video game release, but one question asked after its launch was whether Electronic Arts' blockbuster action/horror title would be able to dethrone Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Well, the monthly NPD numbers are in, and it looks like Dead Space 3 did pretty well. The game managed to take the number one spot for the month, knocking Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 down to second place. This marks the first time that Black Ops 2 hasn't been the best-selling game since its debut in November, ending a three month run at the top.
For Dead Space 3, the news comes after Internet rumors claimed that EA was considering canceling the series altogether due to poor sales. EA denied the allegation, but didn't comment further except to say it was "proud" of the game. No sales numbers were released with February's NPD chart, but Dead Space 3's performance at least suggests the game is doing well.
Dead Space 3 received generally positive reviews, with a 78 percent Metacritic average for the Xbox 360 (76 percent for the PS3 version), although there were complaints that the third game's action focus sapped the tension out of the experience. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, meanwhile, fared a little better with an 83 percent average, even though the game doesn't stray far from its predecessors.
Elsewhere on the charts, Crysis 3 clocked in at number three, while the critically panned Aliens: Colonial Marines cracked into the top six despite the fact that most accounts have called the game terrible.
Multiplatform titles made up the entire list, meaning some Wii U games are present even though the Nintendo versions were generally the worst selling ones. The results simply underscore the fact that the Wii U continues to struggle, and that ports aren't going to do much to help Nintendo.
Overall game sales were down by 27 percent, according to VentureBeat, but if you combine game hardware, software, and accessory sales, the industry still generated $810 million. And that's before you include digital downloads.
"When you consider our preliminary estimate for other physical format sales in February such as used and rentals at $90 million," NPD analyst Liam Callahan said. "And our estimates for digital format sales including full game and downloadable content including microtransactions, subscriptions, mobile apps, and the consumer spend on social network games at $319 million, we would estimate the total consumer spend in February to be just under $1.2 billion."
The full top 10 list is below.
- Dead Space 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
- Crysis 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- NBA 2K13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3, Xbox 360)
- Aliens: Colonial Marines 2013 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- Just Dance 4 (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
- Far Cry 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (Xbox, PS3, PSV)
- Madden NFL 13 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSV, Wii U)
