Sony?s PlayStation 4 led a surge in console sales that lifted the U.S. video game market in April, according to market data released Thursday by market research firm NPD Group. Sales of video game hardware, mostly consoles, jumped 76% to $192.8 million during the month compared to a year ago, more than offsetting a 10% drop in sales of game software to $227.9 million, NPD reported.

Overall video game sales rose 17% to $580.3 million from the same month last year, according to NPD.

PS4 was the top-selling console for the fourth consecutive month, followed by Microsoft?s Xbox One.

Among the most popular game titles was "Titanfall", followed by "Call of Duty: Ghosts."

Microsoft said Tuesday it would sell a reduced-price version of its Xbox One console without the Kinect motion detection system.