NPD September: PS5 Snaps Switch’s 33 Month Streak As Top-Selling Console In The US

The NPD Group’s monthly report tracking spending across the US video game industry is out for September, and the big takeaway is that the PS5 has finally snapped the Nintendo Switch’s astonishing 33-month streak as the region’s top-selling console. November 2018 was the last month a platform other than Nintendo Switch led the market in unit sales.

As usual, The NPD Groups’ Mat Piscatella broke down the company’s findings over on Twitter. Below you can find a round-up of his Tweets with the accompanying graphics to highlight each segment’s performance.

Overall Spending

• September 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories grew 3% when compared to a year ago, reaching a September record $4.4 billion. YTD spending reached $42.3B, a 12% increase versus a year ago.

13 Month Trend

• Hardware was once again a primary driver of spending gains in September, increasing 49% compared to a year ago. Mobile and Subscription offset declines across other segments to keep content spending flat versus a year ago.

Hardware

• September video game hardware dollar sales increased 49% when compared to September 2020, to $412 million. Year-to-date hardware spending has also gained 49% when compared to the same period a year ago, totaling $3.4 billion.
• PlayStation 5 was the best-selling hardware platform of September in both units and dollars. PlayStation 5 is the best-selling hardware platform of 2021 year-to-date in dollars, while Nintendo Switch leads in units.
• September 2021 snaps the remarkable 33 consecutive month streak that Nintendo Switch was the market’s leading platform in hardware unit sales. November 2018 was the last month a platform other than Nintendo Switch led the market in unit sales (PlayStation 4).

Software

• Madden NFL 22 repeated as the best-selling game of the month. It now ranks as the #2 best-selling game of 2021 year-to-date, and is the 4th best-selling title of the 12 month period ending September 2021. Madden NFL 22 led on both PlayStation and Xbox.
• Tales of Arise set a new launch month dollar sales record for any Tales Of franchise release. Tales of Arise ranked as the 4th best-selling game of September 2021.
• Life is Strange: True Colors launched as September’s #10 best-selling game. Life is Strange: True Colors generated the highest launch month dollar sales for any Life is Strange title to date.
• WarioWare: Get It Together debuted as the 15th overall best-selling game of Sept, while also ranking 2nd on Switch. WarioWare: Get It Together achieved the highest launch month sales for a WarioWare franchise release since WarioWare Smooth Moves in January 2007.

Mobile (Via Sensor Tower)

• The U.S. mobile gaming market has exceeded $2 billion in consumer spending in eight of the nine months of 2021 to date, including September. Average monthly spending is approximately 28% higher than that experienced in first nine months of 2020.
• September’s strong performance for the overall U.S. mobile games market was buoyed by the second highest earning title, MiHoYo’s Genshin Impact, which marked its one-year launch anniversary with spending up nearly 120% month-over-month.
• Top performing mobile titles in the U.S. by consumer spending in September included Candy Crush Saga, Genshin Impact, Roblox, Coin Master, Garena Free Fire, Pokémon GO, Homescapes, Clash of Clans, Bingo Blitz, and Candy Crush Soda Saga.

Accessories

• September 2021 spending on video game accessories fell 12% when compared to a year ago, to $171 million. Year-to-date accessory sales reached $1.8 billion, increasing 9% when compared to a year ago.
• The Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller repeated as the best-selling accessory of September, while the PS5 DualSense Wirelesss Controller White remains the best-selling accesssory of 2021 year-to-date.

Software Charts

The below slideshow features data on the best-selling software in March and year-to-date.

To compare this month’s results to July, it’s here.