Game sales in the US reached new heights in 2020, with total spend of $ 56.9 billion. That’s up 27% year-over-year, according to the latest report from tracking company NPD.
Software accounted for the vast majority (86%) of this figure, with game content spending of up to $ 48.9 billion in 2020. That included physical and digital games, DLC, and console, cloud, mobile, portable, PC and PC subscriptions. VR platforms. Software sales were up 26% compared to 2019.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was the best-selling game of 2020, followed by another CoD title, Modern Warfare. It’s the 12th straight year that the Call of Duty franchise has topped the US charts – a record. Animal Crossing: New Horizons reached No. 3 in 2020.
“In 2020, [Animal Crossing: New Horizons] achieved the highest physical dollar sales for a Nintendo released game in a calendar year since Wii Fit Plus in 2010, “said NPD’s VG industry analyst Mat Piscatella.
Looking at exclusives, The Last of Us: Part II was 2020’s best-selling PlayStation exclusive in the US, becoming the third best-selling Sony game of all time in the country, following in the footsteps of Marvel’s Spider-Man and 2018’s God of War.
But hardware grew even faster than software, with console revenues reaching $ 5.3 billion last year, up 35% from $ 3.9 billion in 2019. Hardware sales were the highest since $ 5 last year. .6 billion was reached in 2011. 2011 was a big year for Xbox 360, with some big titles and the first year of the Kinect accessory – it was also the year the Nintendo 3DS was released.
It’s no surprise that the best-selling console of 2020 was the Nintendo Switch, followed by the PlayStation 5 when we consider the value rating and the PlayStation 4 when we consider the number of units shifted.
“Annual dollar sales of Nintendo Switch hardware were the second highest for an individual platform in a single calendar year in US history,” said Piscatella. “Only dollar sales of the Nintendo Wii in 2008 were higher.”
Money spent on gaming accessories is also up 21% in 2020, totaling $ 2.6 billion. Sony’s DualSense Wireless Controller was the best-selling gamepad of 2020, while the Turtle Beach Ear Force Recon 70 Gaming Headset Black for Xbox was the best-selling headset of the year.
The NPD report also highlights the December 2020 bestsellers, with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War at the top, followed by Cyberpunk 2077 (for which digital sales were not tracked, however) and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Consumer spending broke records in December to reach $ 7.7 billion, up 25% year-over-year.
December hardware sales were up 38% to $ 1.32 billion – the highest total in a December month since 2013. Nintendo Switch was also December’s best-selling platform.
Here are the 20 best games (physical and digital) of 2020, ranked by dollar sales, data courtesy of NPD:
| Position | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (Activision Blizzard) |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Activision Blizzard) |
| 3 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons * (Nintendo) |
| 4 | Madden NFL 21 (EA) |
| 5 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (Ubisoft) |
| 6 | The Last of Us: Part II (Sony) |
| 7 | Spirit of Tsushima (Sony) |
| 8 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe * (Nintendo) |
| 9 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars * (Nintendo) |
| 10 | Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix) |
| 11 | Marvel’s Avengers (Square Enix) |
| 12 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Sony) |
| 13 | NBA 2K21 * (Take-Two Interactive) |
| 14 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate * (Nintendo) |
| 15 | FIFA 21 (EA) |
| 16 | Mortal Kombat 11 (Warner Bros) |
| 17 | Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (Bandai Namco) * |
| 18 | MLB: The Show 20 (Sony) |
| 19 | Cyberpunk 2077 * (Warner Bros) |
| 20 | Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (Activision Blizzard) |
* Digital sales not included