The sales numbers for February 2021 in the US have come in, and it was another massive month for the Nintendo Switch across hardware and software, while the overall US gaming business saw a big increase in total revenue.
In total, spending on gaming in the US during February--across games, hardware, and accessories--reached $4.6 billion, which was up 35% compared to last year. Year-to-date spending hit $9.3 billion, up by 39%.
Hardware showed impressive gains, with sales rising by 121% compared to February 2020, reaching $406 million. In fact, February 2021 was the biggest February since 2011 ($468 million). For the year so far, spending on hardware has reached $724 million, up 130%, and fueled in part by the launches of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and the ongoing success of the Switch.
The Switch was once again the best-selling console overall in the US in terms of unit sales and dollars. "Unit and dollar sales of Nintendo Switch hardware in February were the highest for any hardware platform in a February month since the Nintendo Wii in February 2009," NPD said.
With February's numbers accounted for, lifetime spending on Switch hardware in terms of dollar sales has now surpassed the DS to become Nintendo's second-best selling console in the US. It now only trails the Nintendo Wii.
The PS5 was the second-best selling console in February for unit sales and dollars, and NPD said the system continues to be the fastest-selling hardware platform ever in the US after four months on the market.
It also bears mentioning that the PS5 and Xbox Series X have been constrained as it relates to their supply, which is certainly not helping things.
Moving to games, Nintendo's Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury was the top-seller and it becomes the second best-selling game of 2021 so far, only behind Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The results are all the more impressive when considering digital sales are not accounted for in the case of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury.
Rounding out the top five best-sellers for February 2021 were Black Ops Cold War, Persona 5: Strikers, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Madden NFL 21. You can see the full list of the top 20 best-selling games for February below.
In terms of accessories, the PS5 DualSense controller was the top-seller in terms of dollar sales in February 2021 and for the full year so far. Total revenue for accessories in the US during the month reached $195 million, which is up 41%.
February 2021 Best-Sellers For All Platforms In The US
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury*
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Persona 5: Strikers
- Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Madden NFL 21
- Little Nightmares II
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe*
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- FIFA 21
- NBA 2K21*
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars*
- Ring Fit Adventure*
- Just Dance 2021
- Minecraft: PS4 Edition
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
- Immortals: Fenyx Rising
*Digital sales not included
February 2021 Nintendo Sales
No digital sales included
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars
- Ring Fit Adventure
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Just Dance 2021
- Super Mario Party
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
February 2021 PlayStation Sales
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Persona 5: Strikers
- Madden NFL 21
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Minecraft: PS4 Edition
- NBA 2K21
- FIFA 21
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Little Nightmares II
February 2021 Xbox Sales
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Madden NFL 21
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Little Nightmares II
- Forza Horizon 4
- FIFA 21
- Minecraft: Xbox One Edition
- Mortal Kombat 11
- UFC 4