The U.S. video game industry continues to see rising sales as the one-year anniversary of pandemic-induced stay-at-home orders arrives.
According to the latest data from The NPD Group, consumers spent a record $4.6 billion across video game hardware, content, and accessories last month — a 35% increase compared to 2020. Year-to-date spending is up 39% over last year.
2020 was unique in that sales for gaming hardware should’ve been on a downward trend as the industry stood on the cusp of a new console generation. Instead, increased interest in video gaming from families spending time at home fueled demand that has only grown over the past year.
Video game hardware sales spiked 121% last month as consumers continued to seek out the latest console offerings, including Microsoft’s Xbox Series X|S and the Sony Playstation 5. Still, the Nintendo Switch reigned supreme as the best-selling system overall. Additionally, NPD says that unit and total dollar sales for Nintendo Switch hardware last month were the highest for any hardware platform since the Nintendo Wii in Feb. 2009.
Playstation 5 secured the second spot but has secured a spot in the record books as the fastest-selling video game platform in U.S. history.
Top 10 Video Games (All Platforms) – February 2021
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War (Activision Blizzard)
- Persona 5: Strikers (SEGA/Atlus)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Sony)
- Madden NFL 21 (Electronic Arts)
- Little Nightmares II (Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (Ubisoft)
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Nintendo)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Activision Blizzard)
It’s worth noting that Nintendo-published titles chart without digital sales being reported.
