Today, the NPD has released its report for US game spending for the month of February. Total spending on games was up 35% to $4.6 billion. Hardware sales saw the largest relative growth of 121% to $406 million. Software sales saw an increase of 30% to $4 billion. The NPD noted that the PlayStation 5 became the fastest-selling hardware platform in U.S. history, passing the Nintendo Switch who also had a big February.
The Nintendo Switch had the best hardware sales again in terms of units sold and dollar sales, posting the highest numbers for the month of February for any console since 2009 with the Nintendo Wii. The total lifetime sales of the Switch have exceeded the Nintendo DS. This makes the Nintendo Switch Nintendo’s second best-selling platform in U.S. tracked history behind the Wii. The Switch is currently the 7th best-selling hardware platform in lifetime U.S. dollar sales.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is the best-selling game of February. The NPD report also reveals that it is the 2nd best-selling game of 2021 to date. Persona 5: Strikers and Little Nightmares 2 also made the top 20. Six of the best-selling games also appeared in the top 20 of February 2020.
The NPD report also revealed that February 2021 was also a big month for video game accessories, totaling $195 million, a 41% increase from last year. The gamepad, headset/headphone, and steering wheel all had new February dollar sales records. The DualSense led all accessories in dollar sales for the month of February as leads 2021 as a whole.