Newly-released sales data has revealed that Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 remake was the best-selling game in March 2023 (the first month of its release), beating Avalanche Software’s massively-successful Hogwarts Legacy and also becoming the third best-selling game of the year to date in the process. In the hardware department, the PlayStation 5 remained the best-selling hardware platform in March, outselling the PS4 in a comparable period following release.

• Related Reading: Resident Evil 4 Remake Sales Top 4 Million Units Worldwide

Market research company Circana (formerly The NPD Group)’s Mat Piscatella published his report of the gaming industry’s market data for the month of March 2023 today. While net video game spending across content, hardware, and accessories saw marginal year-on-year and year-to-date declines in March, hardware and accessory spending both rose year-on-year and year-to-date compared to previous periods:

March 2023 US Video Game Market Thread from Circana – Consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories totaled $4.6B, a 5% decline when compared to a year ago. Year-to-date consumer spending fell 1% when compared to the same period in 2022, to $13.6B. pic.twitter.com/eJsI4BDQAL

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) April 19, 2023

The PS5 was responsible for the rise in hardware spending in March, though its contributions to video game spending were offset by a spending decline across premium games, PC add-on content and mobile game spending. Twenty-nine months into release, the PS5 now has outsold the PS4 in a comparable post-launch period.

• More PS5 Reading: PlayStation Store Spring Sale Refresh Adds More Games; Here Are All the Titles and Prices

Compared year-on-year, March 2023 was the second-strongest March for hardware spending in U.S. history with $566 million worth of sales, beaten only by March 2021 with $680 million worth of hardware spending.

PlayStation 5 lifted hardware spending in March. However this growth was offset by a decline in content spending, where increases in non-mobile subscription as well as digital add-on console content were offset by lower spend across premium games, PC add-on content and mobile. pic.twitter.com/EGLT0QLwCl

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) April 19, 2023

In terms of video game content, Capcom’s ambitious Resident Evil 4 remake tore past its competitors in the first month of its release, becoming the best-selling game of March 2023 and the third best-selling game of the year to date. Notably, it defeated February’s Hogwarts Legacy in March sales, and came in at third place under the Wizarding World game and Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 in terms of year-to-date sales:

Video game accessory spending grew both year-on-year (from $237 million to $239 million) and year-to-date (from $616 million to $617 million). Though gamepad sales saw a decline in year-on-year sales in February, they have risen year-on-year in March as the month’s best-selling accessory segment, and with the black PS5 DualSense Edge controller ranking as the month’s highest-selling gamepad in dollar sales.

Though marginal spending declines year-on-year and year-to-date were indeed seen in multiple segments, Piscatella reports that large new gaming releases are in fact selling “very well;” the issue instead appears to be the quantity and frequency of such releases. The PS5 is understandably driving the console market, with the overall gaming market stabilizing and consumer engagement returning to pre-pandemic levels.

If you’re deciding whether or not to pick up the Resident Evil 4 remake now, our review of the game in which we found it “the gold standard when it comes to remakes” should make that decision for you. For those already venturing into the reimagined Valdelobos, check out our selection of Resident Evil 4 remake guides that provide convenient solutions, shortcuts, and strategies for the game’s host of horrifying challenges.