While the Nintendo Switch dominated the US market last year, the PS5 was also successful in the same period, according to data accumulated by NPD. On the software side, the Call of Duty series dominated the market.
The NPD Group has the latest statistics for the US market published. December 2020 and the full year were dominated by the Nintendo Switch. But the PS5 and PS4 were also successful.
While the PS5 ended the year in second place in terms of highest sales, the PS4 landed in second place in the sales rankings. In addition, the PS5 set a PlayStation-internal sales record in December.
Hardware:
- Hardware dollar sales reached $1.35 billion in December 2020, an increase of 38 percent when compared to a year ago, and the highest total for a December month since the $1.37 billion achieved in December 2013.
- Annual hardware dollar sales totaled $5.3 billion, 35% higher than 2019, and the most since $5.6 billion was reached in 2011.
- Nintendo Switch was the best-selling hardware platform in units and dollars for both December and the 2020 year. Annual dollar sales of Switch hardware were the 2nd highest for a platform in
- U.S. history. Only the 2008 dollar sales of Nintendo Wii were higher.
PlayStation 5 finished 2020 as the #2 best-selling console in dollar sales, while PlayStation 4 ranked 2nd in units sold. PlayStation 5 set a new dollar sales record for PlayStation hardware through each platform’s first December.
The game charts also provided few surprises, according to NPD. At the top of the annual charts are two Call of Duty games. Nintendo, on the other hand, was able to claim half of the top 20 places.
Software:
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was the best-selling game of both December as well as 2020, while Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was 2020’s 2nd best-seller. Call of Duty ranked as the best-selling gaming franchise in the U.S. market for a record 12th consecutive year.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons was 2020’s 3rd best-selling title, and the 6th best-selling game of December. In 2020 the title achieved the highest physical dollar sales for a Nintendo published the game in a calendar year since Wii Fit Plus in 2010.
- Cyberpunk 2077 debuted as the #2 best-selling game of December, and the 19th best-selling game of 2020, despite the lack of digital tracking.
- The Last of Us: Part II finished 2020 as the year’s 6th best-selling title overall. The Last of Us: Part II now ranks as the 3rd best-selling Sony published the game in U.S. history in dollar sales, trailing only Marvel’s Spider-Man and 2018’s God of War.
- Half of the top 20 best-selling games of December 2020 were published by Nintendo.
