Nintendo Switch Best-Selling Console in 2020 in the US, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War Top Game - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 05 May 2021 / 3,153 Views
The Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in 2020 in the US in terms of units sold and dollar sales, according to NPD figures. Dollar sales for the Switch were the second-highest ever in US history, with only the Nintendo Wii in 2008 generating more revenue.
"Nintendo Switch was the best-selling hardware platform in units and dollars not only in December 2020, but the entire year," Piscatella said. "Annual dollar sales of Nintendo Switch hardware were the second-highest for an individual platform in a single calendar year in U.S. history. Only the 2008 dollar sales of Nintendo Wii were higher."
The PlayStation 5 was the second best-selling console in 2020 in terms of dollar sales, while the PlayStation 4 was second when it comes to consoles sold. The PS5 set a new record for dollar sales for a PlayStation console's first December at retail.
"PlayStation 5 finished 2020 as the No. 2 best-selling console in dollar sales, while PlayStation 4 ranked second in units sold,” said Piscatella. “PlayStation 5 set a new dollar sales record for PlayStation hardware through each PlayStation platform’s first December at retail."
Total video game sales set a new record of $56,91 billion, which is a 27 percent increase year-over-year. Hardware spending for the year jumped 35 percent year-over-year to $5.31 billion. This is the highest number since 2011 when consumers spent $5.6 billion on hardware.
Money spent on video game content increased 26 percent year-over-year to $48.98 billion, while spending on video game accessories was up 21 percent to $2.62 billion.
"Annual hardware dollar sales totaled $5.3 billion, 35% higher than 2019, and the most since $5.6 billion was reached in 2011," said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella.
Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War was the best-selling game of 2020, followed by 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
"Call of Duty ranked as the best-selling gaming franchise in the U.S. market for a record 12th consecutive year," Piscatella said.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the third best-selling game in 2020 in the US. It had the highest physical dollar sales for a single Nintendo published game in a single calendar year since Wii Fit Plus in 2010.
"In 2020, Animal Crossing achieved the highest physical dollar sales for a Nintendo-published game in a calendar year since Wii Fit Plus in 2010," Piscatella said.
Cyberpunk 2077 debuted in second place in December 2020 and after less than a month was the 19th best-selling game, despite not including digital sales.
"Cyberpunk 2077 debuted as the second best-selling game of December," said Piscatella. "And it’s the 19th best-selling game of 2020, despite the lack of digital tracking."
The Last of Us Part II was the best-selling PlayStation exclusive in 2020 and the sixth best-selling game of the year.
"The Last of Us Part II finished 2020 as the year’s best-selling PlayStation exclusive, while also ranking as the sixth best-selling title overall," said Piscatella. "The Last of Us Part II now ranks as the third best-selling Sony-published game in U.S. history in dollar sales, trailing only Marvel’s Spider-Man, and 2018’s God of War."
Top 20 best-selling games of 2020:
| Rank | 2020 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher | |
| 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) | |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Activision Blizzard (Corp) | |
| 3 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo | |
| 4 | Madden NFL 21 | Electronic Arts | |
| 5 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Ubisoft | |
| 6 | The Last of Us: Part II | Sony (Corp) | |
| 7 | Ghost of Tsushima | Sony (Corp) | |
| 8 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe* | Nintendo | |
| 9 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars* | Nintendo | |
| 10 | Final Fantasy VII: Remake | Square Enix Inc (Corp) | |
| 11 | Marvel’s Avengers | Square Enix Inc (Corp) | |
| 12 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) | |
| 13 | NBA 2K21* | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) | |
| 14 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo | |
| 15 | FIFA 21 | Electronic Arts | |
| 16 | Mortal Kombat 11 | Warner Bros. Interactive | |
| 17 | Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot | Bandai Namco Entertainment | |
| 18 | MLB: The Show 20 | Sony (Corp) | |
| 19 | Cyberpunk 2077* | Warner Bros. Interactive | |
| 20 | Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 | Activision Blizzard (Corp) | |
| * Digital sales not included |
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.
