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How did the US video game industry fare in March 2019? The NPD Group has released its report for the month, shining a light on the best-performing consoles and games in March.

Starting with games, The Division 2 was the top-selling game of the month, and it becomes the second best-selling title of 2019, only behind Kingdom Hearts III. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice came in at No. 2, and it is the second-highest launch-month sales for FromSoftware; it’s only behind Dark Souls III.

Another highlight in March was MLB 19: The Show, which came in at No. 3. The PS4-exclusive set a new franchise record for first-month sales; it also set a new all-time record for first-month sales across the entire baseball category. Devil May Cry 5 also came out in March, and it enjoyed the second highest launch-month sales in series history; only Devil May Cry 4 outperformed it. One final highlight was that Kingdom Hearts III, which released back in January, is now the best-selling Kingdom Hearts game ever.

Overall, total game spending in March 2019 amounted to $547 million; that’s down 11 percent year-over-year.

Moving to hardware, the Nintendo Switch was March 2019’s best-selling console, and the first quarter of the year overall, across units sold and dollars spent. The Switch’s strong performance wasn’t enough to stabilise the entire hardware sector, as total hardware spending for March 2019 dropped 15 percent to $282 million.

Microsoft and Sony are working on new consoles, so it might be people are holding off their purchases for now. Retailer GameStop has said it expects new console to be announced soon. Just recently, a new report said Nintendo will release a cheaper Switch model in June.

With games, hardware, and accessories sales combined, total US industry video game spending reached $1.2 billion in March; that’s down 11 percent year-over-year.

March 2019 US Sales

Top 20 Games All Platforms

1. The Division 2^
2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice^
3. MLB 19: The Show
4. Devil May Cry 5
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
6. Red Dead Redemption II
7. NBA 2K19
8. GTA V
9. Yoshi’s Crafted World*
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4^
11. Anthem^
12. Mario Kart 8*
13. Jump Force
14. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
15. Far Cry New Dawn
16. Minecraft#
17. Battlefield V^
18. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
19. Borderlands
20. Assassin’s Creed : Odyssey

2019 Year-To-Date Top 10 Games

1. Kingdom Hearts III
2. The Division 2^
3. Anthem^
4. Resident evil 2
5. Red Dead Redemption II
6. Jump Force
7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate8
8. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice^
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4^
10. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*

All Platforms 12 Months Ending March 2019

1. Red Dead Redemption II
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4^
3. NBA 2K19
4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
5. Madden NFL 19^
6. Spider-Man
7. God of War
8. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
9. FIFA 19^
10. Mario Kart 8*

March 2019 Xbox One

1. The Division 2
2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
3. Devil May Cry 5
4. Anthem
5. Red Dead Redemption II
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
7. NBA 2K19
8. Battlefield V
9. Far Cry New Dawn

March 2019 PS4

1. The Division 2
2. MLB 19: The Show
3. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
4. Devil May Cry 5
5. Red Dead Redemption II
6. NBA 2K19
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
8. Jump Force
9. Spider-Man
10. GTA V

March 2019 Nintendo Switch

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
2. Yoshi’s Crafted World*
3. Mario Kart 8*
4. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
6. Super Mario Party*
7. Super Mario Odyssey*
8. Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu*
9. Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee*
10. Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

March 2019 3DS

1. Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn*
2. Pokemon: Ultra Sun*
3. Pokemon: Ultra Moon*
4. The Legend of Zelda: Marjora’s Mask 3D*
5. Super Mario Maker*
6. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey*
7. Super Smash Bros.*
8. Mario Kart 7*
9. Super Mario 3D Land*
10. Luigi’s Mansion*

* Digital sales not included

^ PC digital sales not included

# Minecraft digital sales on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One included

Anthem developer BioWare has announced some changes to the game’s extra-content release schedule. Writing on Reddit, the developer announced seven planned releases have been delayed, including the major Cataclysm event.

“It’s been 10 weeks since the early access release of Anthem. While we have been quiet publicly, we have been hard at work in the background and we wanted to provide an update on the state of the game,” BioWare said. “We have learned a lot since the game went live. We have heard a lot of feedback from all of you, and we have been working diligently to improve as many things as we can in the short term.”

BioWare has supported Anthem with bug fixes and additional changes (including the new 1.1.0 update that’s out now) that help “point us in the right direction for the future.” However, BioWare acknowledged that it still has “a long way to go before Anthem becomes the game we all want it to be.”

Looking ahead, BioWare said it plans to prioritise fixing bugs and improving the overall stability of Anthem. “The reality is there are more things to fix and improve than we planned for. While this is the best thing to do for the game, it means some items from the calendar will be delayed,” BioWare said.

The following Anthem features have been delayed:

• Mastery System
• Guilds
• Legendary Missions – Phase II
• Weekly Stronghold Challenge
• Leaderboards
• Some Freeplay Events
• Cataclysm

For now, BioWare is keeping quiet on these delayed features, but new information should come in due time. “We want to make sure everything we add to the game has a purpose and fits with our long term goals. When we have information to share on the items above, we will do so,” BioWare said.

The studio did, however, address some part of it. For example, the Cataclysm event is a “big focus,” and BioWare said it sees it as an “important addition to the game.”

“The Cataclysm will bring new challenges and rewards and pushes the story of Anthem forward. As our work continues, we will share more with you in May,” it said.

BioWare also said it’s aware of the concerns some have about end-game loot. “We agree that our loot and progression systems need to be improved and we are working towards this. When we have more information to share, we will,” BioWare said.

Also in the post, BioWare admitted that it hasn’t done the best job at communicating with fans. Going forward, BioWare said it plans to stay quiet for longer.

“A lesson we have learned is we have been talking about things too early. There are so many factors that can cause us to pivot on our plans–whether it’s bugs & stability issues, player feedback, or complications with a feature that require us to take more time to deliver it,” it said. “Our goal is to tell you about new content and features once the work is closer to being done.”

While that is true, BioWare is also hoping to communicate better with players earlier, too, through a test server on PC. BioWare will launch a Player Feedback Environment (PFE) where players can check out new content before it’s released publicly to share feedback with BioWare.

In closing, BioWare said Anthem faces an long, uphill battle to get where it needs to be.

“We believe in Anthem. We believe the game will be great, but we recognize getting there will take a lot of hard work,” the developer said. “We want to do that work and we want you all to join us on the journey to get there.”

Anthem launched in February behind mixed reviews. Despite that, it had a strong first month of sales, in the United States at least.

A new, cheaper version of the Nintendo Switch will launch “by the end of June,” according to a source speaking to Bloomberg. This is at least the second time this year that we’ve heard reports about a less expensive Switch model, as The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Nintendo would release a pared-down, less expensive Switch system in 2019.

That report also mentioned a second new Switch model, one that has “enhanced” features that is targeted at “avid” gamers. However, the specs won’t match PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, the report said. Bloomberg’s sources, meanwhile, suggest that the current Switch model will get a “modest upgrade” in 2019. However, it’s unclear what the upgrade will entail. Whatever the case, Bloomberg reported that the more powerful Switch system “is not in the works.”

The Wall Street Journal’s report suggested that the new, less expensive Switch would cut features like controller vibration to save on costs. Bloomberg’s story had no details on that.

It could be a big week for Nintendo news, as the company is holding its next earnings report on April 25. It could be here that Nintendo confirms it’s working on new consoles. That also might not happen. We’ll have to wait a few days to find out for sure.

Another big news story surrounding Nintendo currently are the rumors and reports about the company launching the Switch in China with the help of Tencent. Nintendo might share more details about this during its earnings report this week.

The new Switch consoles are rumoured to be announced at E3 and then released relatively soon thereafter. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

It would be no surprise at all to see the Switch get a hardware revision. Historically, Nintendo–along with Microsoft and Sony–have released hardware revisions over time.