Switch Sales in US Have Best Month of May Since DS in 2009, Xenoblade Chronicles Top Debut - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 July 2020 / 5,404 Views
The Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in the US in May 2020, outselling the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, according to figures from NPD.
Switch sales remained strong during the month of May, as the last time a platform sold more during any month of May was the Nintendo DS in May 2009.
"Nintendo Switch continues to have incredible momentum," said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. "With a time-aligned 39 months in market, the Switch unit installed base in the US trails only the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2."
Overall spending on hardware increased 56 percent year-on-year to $235 million, while spending on software jumped 67 percent to $438 million. Overall spending on video games increased 52 percent to $977 million.
"May 2020 tracked spending across video game hardware, software, accessories, and game cards totaled $977 million, 52% higher when compared to a year ago," Piscatella said. "This is the highest tracked spend for a May month since the $1.2 billion achieved in May 2008."
"Nintendo Switch was the best-selling hardware platform in May in both unit and dollar sales," said Piscatella. "Nintendo Switch unit sales were the highest for an individual platform in a May month since the Nintendo DS in May 2009."
The US video game market in 2020 through May has earned a total $5.5 billion, which is 18 percent compared to the same period in 2019. It is also the highest total since $5.7 billion was spent in 2011.
Spending on video game hardware in the first five months of 2020 increased from $1,07 billion last year to $1.43 billion. Video game software has also increased from $2.17 billion in 2019 to $2.46 billion in 2020. Revenue from video game accessories and game cards increased from $1.42 billion to $1.59 billion.
"Year-to-date tracked spending … reached $5.5 billion — increasing 18% when compared to a year ago," said Piscatella. "This is the highest total for the year-to-date period since 2011’s $5.7 billion."
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition was the best-selling new game on the main software charts, as it debuted in 14th place.
"No new releases ranked among the top 10 best-selling games of the month," said Piscatella. "The highest-ranking new release was Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, which placed at No. 14 on the all-platforms chart."
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare remains the best-selling game for another month, the best-selling game of 2020, and the best-selling game of the last 12 months.
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare returns to the top of the chart as May’s best-selling title," said Piscatella. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare remains the best-selling game of 2020 year-to-date, as well as for the 12-month period ending May 2020."
Mortal Kombat 11 is the fifth best-selling game in May 2020 and is the highest the game has ranked since it launched in third place in June 2019. It is the fifth best-selling fighting game ever in the US.
"Mortal Kombat 11 is the fifth best-selling game of May 2020," said Piscatella. "It is the highest the title has ranked on the monthly chart since it was the third best-selling game of June 2019. Mortal Kombat 11 is currently the fifth best-selling fighting game in U.S. history."
Here are the top 20 best-selling games in terms of dollars for May 2020:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- NBA 2K20
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Red Dead Redemption II
- Minecraft*
- Final Fantasy VII: Remake
- Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
- Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
- Madden NFL 20 [EA Sports]
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
- Need for Speed: Heat
- Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition*
- Minecraft Dungeons*
- Saints Row: The Third Remastered
- MLB: The Show 20
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III
- FIFA 20 [EA Sports]
* Digital sales not included
Here are the lists of top 10 selling games by platform for the month:
Top 10 best-selling Xbox One games for May 2020
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
- Minecraft Dungeons
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
- NBA 2K20
- Saints Row: The Third Remastered
- Madden NFL 20 [EA Sports]
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Remastered
Top 10 best-selling PlayStation 4 games for May 2020
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Final Fantasy VII: Remake
- NBA 2K20
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
- MLB: The Show 20
- Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order
- Madden NFL 20 [EA Sports]
- Red Dead Redemption II
Top 10 best-selling Nintendo Switch games for May 2020
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
- Just Dance 2020
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
- Luigi’s Mansion 3*
- Pokémon: Sword*
- Trials of Mana
- Super Mario Party*
Top 10 best-selling games of 2020 through May 2020
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
- Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition*
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- Just Dance 2020
- Pokemon: Sword*
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
- Luigi’s Mansion 3*
- Super Mario Odyssey*
Thanks VentureBeat.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Digital sales (which are not included) should be again very high for Animal Crossing.
The Switch basically runs out as soon as it comes into stores. They can't make them fast enough.
Switch will 100% sell over 8 million this year, at the very least. i don't see it selling over 10 million as Wii and DS peak but that's still huge. 9 million could be possible as well.
Surprised no hardcore unrated adventure games on the list. During this Covid crisis, if I was like most gamers and didn’t have a family, I’d be all over those. My next doctor’s checkup would have her say “OH MY LORD! What have you done to yourself?” And I’d be all like, “At least I’m in shape,” and she’s be like “Only Jesus can save you now!”
What does "Top 10 best-selling games of 2020 through May 2020" mean? cos I only see switch games, so is that onejust for switch, would have guessed a game like COD would be in that list if it were all consoles. Correct me if I'm mistaken/wrong.
Yeah, I'm confused too, I'd think COD and GTA5 would be the top two of all games sold in 2020.
Only physical is compted on the Nintendo Switch
One confusing aspect of that report was that it's stated Xenoblade Chronicles was the 3rd biggest seller for Switch UP TO May but it's not even in the list FOR May. Correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't it released IN May?
The demat is not count so Animal Crossing is just a huge success dame for the Nintendo Switch
Yes haha sorry
Yes haha sorry
He's french, "demat" is the concised form of the word "dématérialisé" which literally means "unmaterialized".
French speaker tend to refer to Digital version by using that word instead of "Digital".
