Spending on video game content hit $3.9 billion, a one percent increase over the same period last year. Several new titles debuted in the charts, like WILD HEARTS in eighth place, Like a Dragon: Ishin! in ninth and Octopath Traveler 2 in tenth.

Factoring in non-top ten titles, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe debuted in 15th place, Company of Heroes 3 in 16th, and Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line came in at 20th. It’s also worth noting The Last of Us Part 1, which rose from 11th place to sixth place, likely due to the popularity of the HBO series. Even The Last of Us Part 2 benefitted, going from 41st place in January to 18th in February.

February 2023 Top 20 Best-Sellers (Dollar Sales, Excludes DLC/MTX) pic.twitter.com/IopOK1rfQf

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 29, 2023

2023 YTD Top 20 Best-Sellers (Dollar Sales, Excludes DLC/MTX) pic.twitter.com/o1MOYDFgpV

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 29, 2023

Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game of both February 2023 as well as 2023 year-to-date. Hogwarts Legacy also ranked 1st in February sales across each of the PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam platforms.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 29, 2023

Spending on video game content increased 1% in February when compared to a year ago, to $3.9 billion. Growth in digital content across Console and PC platforms, as well as non-mobile subscription spending, offset a decline in mobile.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 29, 2023

Seven of the top twenty best-selling games of February were new releases, with Wild Hearts (#8), Like a Dragon: Ishin! (#9) and Octopath Traveler II (#10) also ranking among the top 10 best-selling titles during February.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 29, 2023

The Last of Us: Part I rose 5 spots on the February chart, placing 6th after ranking 11th in January. The Last of Us: Part II returned to the top twenty in February, finishing 18th overall following a #41 placement in January.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 29, 2023

Regarding November, four new titles debuted in the top 20 – God of War Ragnarok in second place, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in third, Sonic Frontiers in fourth and Tactics Ogre: Reborn in 17th. The other major movers were Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which went from 39th to ninth place (perhaps due to the PC version’s release).

Mario Party Superstars rose from 47th to tenth place, while Animal Crossing: New Horizons went from 28th to 12th place. Nintendo doesn’t provide digital sales, so both titles likely performed even better than their rankings imply. Check out the top 20 best-selling video games in the US based on dollar sales below.

It was driven by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which secured the top spot for the month. Hardly surprising, given that it crossed $1 billion in revenue within ten days of launching. Despite a mixed critical reception, Gotham Knights ranked in second place and debuted as the 14th best-selling game of the year-to-date. Interestingly, October’s top 20 best-sellers were new titles, including NHL 23 in fifth place, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope in the sixth, Bayonetta 3 in ninth, and Star Ocean: The Divine Force in 14th.

Even Dragon Ball: The Breakers secured a spot in 16th place, with Take Two’s PGA Tour 2K23 in 17th. For more details, check out the top 20 best-selling video games for October 2022, based on dollar sales, below.

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Dollar sales for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles saw percentage growth in the double-digits compared to last year. In terms of unit sales, the PS5 ranked second while the Xbox Series X/S was second in dollar sales. PS5 supply has improved in recent weeks, and despite not knowing how long it will last, Piscatella said there are “good signs overall.”

Overall dollar sales for video game hardware hit $362 million, which is a 12 percent increase compared to last year. Year-to-date spending hit $2.5 billion, a 7 percent drop from the same period last year. When taking hardware, software and accessories, total spending for July 2022 hit $4.18 billion, 9 percent less than July 2020.

Year-to-date spending declined by 10 percent to $30.5 billion, with Piscatella noting that gains from subscriptions weren’t enough to offset declines in “other content segments.”

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LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is in third place, which means that two of the top three best-selling games of the month were published by Warner Bros. In year-to-date sales, TT Games’ title ranked in second place behind FromSoftware’s Elden Ring (which recently hit 16.6 million units sold worldwide).

Monolith Soft’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 also had an impressive debut at fourth place, that too without digital sales included. It’s the best-selling title on Nintendo Switch for July. The final new release of the month was Bandai Namco’s Digimon Survive. Two days of sales were tracked, but it was still enough to net eighth place.

Check out the top 20 best-selling video games in the US based on dollar sales below.

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Mat Piscatella, executive director and game industry advisor for The NPD Group, noted that “In the console segment, Switch unit sales trail only those of PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii.” Year-to-date, the Switch continues to beat the Xbox and PlayStation. While the Xbox Series X/S was the second best-selling console for April 2022 and year-to-date due to constrained PS5 supplies, the latter still won out in dollar sales. This is due to the average sales price of its consoles being higher, thus generating more revenue.

“PlayStation 5 led April in hardware dollar sales, trailed closely by Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch. The Xbox Series has generated the highest hardware dollars of any platform year to date, followed by PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch,” said Piscatella. Dollar sales for video game hardware hit $343 million last month, which represents a 16 percent increase over last year. However, year-to-date spending was $1.5 billion, a nine percent drop.

In terms of software sales, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Elden Ring were the top sellers. Head here for more details.

Along with being the best-selling game on Xbox platforms, it also led sales among tracked PC titles. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl also performed well, ranking third and topping sales on Nintendo platforms for both the month and the entire year. Total dollar sales for the franchise’s physical software also hit the highest annual total since 2000.

It’s also worth noting Resident Evil Village which was the eighth best-selling game of 2021. The franchise also recorded a new all-time annual high in the US. Check out the full top 20 best-selling games in the US for December 2021:

1. Call of Duty: Vanguard
2. Halo Infinite
3. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
4. Madden NFL 22
5. Battlefield 2042
6. Mario Kart 8
7. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
8. Mario Party Superstars
9. NBA 2K22
10. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
11. FIFA 22
12. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
13. Minecraft
14. Far Cry 6
15. Just Dance 2022
16. Forza Horizon 5
17. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
18. Ghost of Tsushima
19. Super Mario 3D World
20. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

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To no one’s surprise, the Nintendo Switch is the best-selling platform in terms of units sold. When comparing dollar sales for December 2021, it actually tied with the PlayStation 5. But when it comes to both unit and dollar sales for the entire year, it was the Switch that emerged victorious.

It should be interesting to see how 2022 shakes out especially with games like Kirby and the Forgotten Land out in March and rumors of a new Mario Kart in development. A remaster of the first Metroid Prime is also apparently coming in the second half of the year so stay tuned for more details and announcements in the coming months.

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It ranks as the sixth best-selling game of the year to date and was also the second best-selling title for the month on PlayStation and Xbox. Forza Horizon 5 ranked as the fourth best-selling game of the month and the third-best selling title on Xbox platforms. However, it set a new launch month sales record for the franchise, beating out previous Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport titles.

Shin Megami Tensei 5 also set a record, reaching the highest launch month dollar sales for any title in the series’ history. While it was only the 16th best-selling game of November, it still managed to rank in sixth place for Nintendo platforms. Stay tuned for more details on the overall top 20 and hardware sales in the meantime.

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However, in terms of dollar sales, the PlayStation 5 topped both, primarily due to its higher price point compared to the Switch. It’s still the fastest selling platform in PlayStation’s history despite being available for just 10 months, which is an achievement unto itself. Overall year-to-date consumer spending was up by seven percent over August 2020, hitting $4.4 billion with hardware spending accounting for $3 billion.

Sony is well on its way to selling 14.8 million PS5 units in the next financial year but the rest of the year should be big for Nintendo as well. That’s because the Switch OLED is out on October 8th (alongside Metroid Dread) and costs $50 more over the base model. We’ll see how well it performs in the coming days so stay tuned.