Nintendo Switch breaks records for first-year US sales
Meanwhile, NPD reports spending on games products neared $1 billion in February
The success of Nintendo Switch continues unabated, as the console-handheld hybrid completed its first 12 months on the US market.
According to data from the NPD Group, the device has now achieved more year-one sales than any other console in history. While no figure was specified, it's likely to be well over five million, as Nintendo reported 4.8 million sales in the US by the end of 2017.
However, PlayStation 4 remained the best-selling console in February, as well as the year-to-date.
Sales of Nintendo software also offset declines on other consoles, helping bring in $397 million across the market in February - the same figure the market achieved in February 2017.
Total spending on hardware, software and accessories rose by 23 per cent year-on-year to $995 million. This was driven primarily by hardware and accessories since, as mentioned, games revenues remained flat.
Hardware sales were the biggest driver of growth, up 55 per cent year-on-year from $204 million to $316 million. Meanwhile, accessories (which includes game cards) saw a 35 per cent boost, up from $210 million to $282 million - a new record and $20 million more than the previous best February for the category ($262 million in 2016).
All of this puts the US games industry ahead of last year's spending so far. By February 28th, 2017, revenues reached $1.5 billion. This year the total stands at $2.1 billion for the first two month, up 39 per cent over the previous period.
Looking at individual successes, Monster Hunter World was not only the best selling title of February, it's also the best-selling title of the year so far. But while Capcom remains the top-selling publisher of 2018 in terms of units, Nintendo outperforms it in dollars taken.
The Top 20 best-selling games for the month were as follows:
- Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
- Call of Duty: World War II (Activision)
- NBA 2K18 (2K Games)
- Dragon Ball: Fighterz (Bandai Namco)
- Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games)
- Shadow of the Colossus (Sony)
- UFC 3 (EA)
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Deep Silver)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (Microsoft)
- Bayonetta 2 (Nintendo)
- Madden NFL 18 (EA)
- Assassin's Creed: Origins (Ubisoft)
- FIFA 18 (EA)
- Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet (Bandai Namco)
- The Sims 4 (EA)
- Star Wars Battlefront II (EA)
It should be noted digital sales are not counted for any Nintendo titles, while PC digital sales were not included for PUBG, The Sims 4 or Battlefront II.