‘Skyward Sword’ soared to No.1 best-selling game in the US last month

The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD was the best-selling game in the US for July.

According to the latest report published by US-based market research group NPD, the Zelda remaster took the top spot in terms of dollar sales, which only included retail sales, making it Nintendo‘s first game to hit number one in a month since Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury in February.

Another high new entry was Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin, which hit third place, although this was available on PC as well as Nintendo Switch. Other Nintendo titles also had a surge in sales, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which went up to fourth place from seventh the previous month.

July also saw an increase in consumer spending on hardware, software, and accessories, which amounted to US$4.6billion (£3.3billion), a ten per cent increase over last year.

This may be due to new expensive next-gen consoles, with the PS5 leading hardware sales in July. The Switch however remains the best-selling console from year-to-date in both units and dollar sales.

Nintendo’s had even greater success in its native home of Japan, as the week of August 2-8 saw Nintendo Switch titles dominating the entire Top 30 Japanese games chart. This feat has not been accomplished since 1988 when the chart was dominated by Famicom titles.

The Switch continues to break records, having sold almost 90million units, outselling the Wii U and 3DS combined, and is on track to overtake the lifetime sales of the Wii.

The hybrid console will also be getting a hardware refresh when the Nintendo Switch OLED launches on October 8, featuring a new 7-inch OLED display, a wide adjustable stand, improved speakers, and a dock that includes an ethernet port.

Elsewhere, Xbox head Phil Spencer has said that xCloud will work on the Steam Deck, while he praised Valve’s new handheld as “a really good device”.