Welcome to the May 2015 edition of the VSM, your stop for information on upcoming games, PlayStation news, and more! It's been exactly one year since the first edition of the VSM, and since then we've seen Sony come a long way in making it's platforms the place to game. They've blown us away time and again, and we've seen some great games come along over the past year. It only makes you wonder what could possibly happen to top what Sony gave us this past year? I for one have no idea, but I certainly look forward to finding out!

Now without further ado, let's get on into this shall we?

Console War Coverage*

March 8th-14th
PS4 - 233,265 (-4%)
XBox One - 95,617 (-6%)
Wii U - 34,964 (-3%)

PS3 - 41,305 (-5%)
XBox 360 - 21,388 (-7%)
Wii - 1,993 (-16%)

PS Vita - 43,790 (+4%)

This week the PS4 loses four percent over the last week but still takes the lead in console sales by a solid 137,000 sales, the XBox One leads the Wii U by 60,000 sales, and the Wii U drops another 3% from the previous week.

Last gen console sales were led by the PS3 this week, which boasted a nice lead of just under 20,000 sales, while the 360 surpasses the Wii in sales by nearly 20,000, and the Wii drops 16% in weekly sales.

Then there's the PlayStation Vita, whose sales increase by another four percent over the previous week.

March 15th - 21st
PS4 - 286,149 (+23%)
XBox One - 105,456 (+10%)
Wii U - 38,950 (+11%)

PS3 - 37,238 (-10%)
XBox 360 - 19,642 (-8%)
Wii - 1,833 (-8%)

PS Vita - 47,346 (+8%)

The second week of this month's sales coverage show the PS4 more than making up for last week's slight drop by moving twenty-three percent more units this week, bringing them to a lead of just under 181,000 over second place, whilst the XBox One moves nearly 67,000 more units than the Wii U, but it's still a good week for Nintendo's newest console as it increases by eleven percent in week-over-week sales.

The PS3 leads the way in last gen console sales again with a lead of over 17,000, while the 360 leads the Wii by roughly 18,000.

And the PlayStation Vita enjoys yet another up-week with another sales increase, this time climbing eight percent in weekly sales.

*Sales totals do not include used systems.

Software Sales*

March 8th - 14th
PS4 - 824,898 (-9%)
XBox One - 358,037 (-7%)
Wii U - 222,460 (+19%)

PS3 - 963,678 (+6%)
XBox 360 - 578,023 (-7%)
Wii - 274,410 (-3%)

PS Vita - 257,501 (+52%)

The PS4 leads game sales this week despite a loss of eight percent in weekly sales, leading by well over 400,000, and the XBox One leads the Wii U in game sales by over 130,000 games, whereas the Wii U manages to be the only current gen console that picks up a boost in week-over-week sales, climbing up an impressive nineteen percent.

PS3 leads the way in last gen console games this week, sporting nearly 100,000 more game sales than the 360 which leads the Wii by a healthy 300,000.

The Vita strikes sales gold this week, jumping an amazing fifty-two percent over last weeks sales. The game to credit for much of this jump is the new Digimon Story game which made up roughly one-third of the game sales for the Vita this week.

March 15th - 21st
PS4 - 1,924,623 (+133%)
XBox One - 851,160 (+138%)
Wii U - 422,305 (+90%)

PS3 - 967,155 (no change)
XBox 360 - 627,343 (+9%)
Wii - 257,644 (-6%)

PS Vita - 223,347 (-13%)

Well who saw this coming? The PS4 shocks us all by selling 133% more games this week than it did last week and leading the XBox One --which saw an increase of 138% in week-over-week sales-- by an astounding lead of well over one million games. Incidentally both systems have the same game to credit for the boost: Battlefield: Hardline. Meanwhile the XBox One leads the Wii U in game sales by over 400,000, and the Wii U jumps ninety percent in weekly sales. Clearly this was the week that every gamer bought a new game.

The PS3 saw no real change in game sales this week but moved over 320,000 more games than did the 360 which led the Wii in game sales by nearly 370,000.

And the Vita drops by thirteen percent but such is to be expected when a new hyped game releases the week before.

*Sales totals do not include used games.

Upcoming PS3 Games

Since I received no feedback concerning which version of the upcoming releases section of the article was best, we will be settling on a mix of the two: This edition will feature a layout simillar the original layout of upcoming releases but will handle content or the lack thereof in a manner much like the last edition used.

May 19th
Farming Simulator '15:
Rated: E
MSRP: $39.99
Developer: Giants Software
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive

May 22nd
Nascar '15
Rated: E
MSRP: $19.99
Developer: Eutechnyx
Publisher: DMi Games


Upcoming PS4 Games

May 5th
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of The Year Edition
Rated: M (Blood And Gore, Intense Violence)
MSRP: $49.99
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Warner Bros. Games

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Rated: M (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language)
MSRP:
Developer: Machine Games
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks




May 12th
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
Rated: T (Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence)
MSRP: $49.99
Developer: Suare Enix
Publisher: Square Enix

Toren
Rated: Unavailable
Developer: Sword Tales
Publisher: Versus Evil
MSRP: $9.99
(unfortunately all of my images for this game failed. I highly recommend looking them up however.)


Project CARS
Rated: E
MSRP: $59.99
Developer: Slightly Mad Studios
Publisher: Slightly Mad Studios
NOTE: Project CARS has several different release dates posted online, so this may not be the correct one.

May 19th
Farming Simulator '15
Rated: E
MSRP: $49.99
Developer: Giants Software
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
Rated: M (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol)
MSRP: $59.99
Developer: CD Projekt RED
Publisher: WB Games

May 26th
Ultra Street Fighter IV
Rated: T (Alcohol Reference, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence)
MSRP: $39.99
Developer: Dimps, Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

Magicka 2
Rated: T (Blood and Gore, Violence)
MSRP: Unavailable
Developer: Pieces Interactive
Publisher: Paradox Interactive


May 29th
Arcania: The Complete Tale
Rated: T (Alcohol Reference, Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Tobacco, Violence)
MSRP: $29.99
Developer: Spellbound
Publisher: Dreamcatcher Interactive


Upcoming PS Vita Games

May 9th
Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes
Rated: E 10+ (Cartoon Violence)
MSRP: $39.99
Developer: Avalanche Software, Studio Gobo, Ninja Theory
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios



May 19th
Hyperdimension Neptunia U: Action Unleashed
Rated: T (Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes)
MSRP: $39.99
Developer: Tamsoft
Publisher: Idea Factory International


Free Games On PSN This Month

The following is a list of all free games for the month of May, as listed on blog.us.playstation.com/2015/04/29/ps-plus-free-games-for-may2015/

PS3:
The Unfinished Swan (see PS4 for screenshots)

Race The Sun



Hohokum (see PS4 for screenshots)


PS4:
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition




Ether One


The Unfinished Swan





Race The Sun (see PS3 for screenshots)

Hohokum





PlayStation Vita:
Murasaki Baby





Hohokum (see PS4 for screenshots)

Race The Sun (see PS3 for screenshots)

The Unfinished Swan (see PS4 for screenshots)


No Mas!

Well that wraps it up for this month's VSM, I hope you enjoyed it. My apologies for failing to cover the top genre picks that I mentioned in the last VSM, but due to connection limitations this month I was unable to include the content for that topic within the alloted time. Hopefully we can cover that in the July or August edition instead, as next month's will likely be jammed with too much E3 content to do much else! So be sure to drop in next time for our E3 2015 edition (not that it'll be all that different from this one, or the one before that, or the one before that, or....) for more PlayStation discussions, including:

-Eirinn's E3 Predictions (you know you've been waiting all year to hear those after all)

-Officially Confirmed PlayStation Content For E3*

-Best Selling Newly Released Games On PS3/4/Vita

As always, if you have any questions comments or feedback of any kind in regards to the VSM articles or Sony gaming, be sure to leave a reply and I'll be glad to look into it.

Until next time, Keep on gaming, and keep it Sony.

PS3 is getting very few games. It's safe to assume that it won't get Tekken 7 until 2016, if it ever gets it.

With each VSM I get more and more convinced of upgrading to PS4. Also, Project CARS seems a very worthy opponent of Gran Turismo. What do you think?

EX Palen : It looks to me like Project CARS has potential to become THE motosports game, for sure, and I really expect it to personally. In fact up and coming racers are actually using the game to practice and prepare themselves for new tracks that they haven't been to yet so they can be ready for it prior to racing it in real life. When a racing game is realistic enough to use for practice for the real thing, it's saying a lot. So assuming it holds up, yeah I think it'll be the main contender this go around, or at least give GT a run for it's money.

Also it really does look like the PS3 is getting fewer games all the time. It's only a little surprising though, given all of the extra power that the PS4 is giving developers to work with. Still I suspect bigger companies with yearly franchise releases will publish on it for a while, but the selection for non-sports titles is getting smaller and smaller.

Eirinn : Definitely, I'm convinced. I'm going to wrap up whatever I can from the PS3, both guides and reviews, and then sell it with all my games to obtain a PS4. There are already 3 games out I would like to have, plus 2 more set to release.

The only doubt I have so far: Driveclub or Project CARS? Seems like Driveclub is a tuning-free Need for Speed, while Project CARS is focused entirely on track racing, so I'm leaning more towards the latter.

EX Palen : Yeah, if you're wanting straight up racing, I think you're looking in the right direction with Project CARS, as Driveclub seems to be more about driving in general. Both have their merits, but for a hardcore racing fan, Project CARS is where it's at. I think Driveclub is more my kind of thing though.

So it's time to take the console change plunge, huh? I don't think you'll regret it given what we're seeing lined up for release and what we've already seen. This looks like it could be one of Sony's best gens yet, if not the best for them. I already have several PS4 and Vita titles picked out myself.

EDIT: Found this just now: "Cyberland has reported that Tekken 7 is only slated to be released for the PC, PS4, Xbox One and Arcades while the PS3, Xbox
360 and Wii-U are not being considered at
the moment"
So if this is true, it looks like they have no intentions for a PS3 version currently, though that could change.