It was a March 2019 of hardware dominance in the United States for the Nintendo Switch, as the ageing PlayStation 4 and Xbox One continue their natural downturn ahead of the new generation. Overall industry spend for the month was down 11 per cent year-over-year, with hardware seeing the most significant decline.

Software also dipped, despite some strong new releases. As expected, The Division 2 topped the charts, but it was flanked by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which debuted in second position. Perhaps even more impressive given the handwringing over baseball ratings, MLB The Show 19 set a new genre record, marking another year of extraordinary growth for the sports simulation.

NPD Software Top 20: March 2019

Tom Clancy's The Division 2^ Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice^ MLB The Show 19 Devil May Cry 5 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* Red Dead Redemption 2 NBA 2K19 Grand Theft Auto V Yoshi's Crafted World* Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII^ Anthem^ Mario Kart 8* Jump Force New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe* Far Cry New Dawn Minecraft# Battlefield V^ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* Borderlands Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

* Digital sales not included

^ PC digital sales not included

# Minecraft digital sales on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One included