Game sales in the United States reached new levels in 2020, with a total expenditure of $ 56.9 billion. This represents a 27% year-on-year increase, according to the latest report from the firm NPD.
Software accounted for the vast majority (86%) of this figure, with spending on game content reaching $ 48.9 billion in 2020. This included physical and digital games, DLC, and subscription to console, cloud, mobile platforms. , laptop, PC and VR. Software sales increased 26% compared to 2019.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was the best-selling game of 2020, followed by another CoD title, Modern Warfare. It is the 12th year in a row that the Call of Duty franchise tops the U.S. annual charts, a record. Animal Crossing: New Horizons reached number 3 by 2020.
“In 2020, [Animal Crossing: New Horizons] achieved higher physical sales in dollars for a game released by Nintendo in a calendar year since Wii Fit Plus in 2010, ”said Mat Piscatella, NPD’s VG industry analyst.
Looking exclusive, The Last of Us: Part II was the best-selling PlayStation exclusive of 2020 in the United States and has become the third best-selling Sony game of all time in the country, following in the footsteps of Marvel’s Spider -Hand and 2018 God of War.
But hardware experienced even greater growth than software, with console revenue reaching $ 5.3 billion last year, 35% more than the $ 3.9 billion in 2019. Hardware sales were last year’s highest since reaching $ 5.6 billion in 2011. 2011 was a big year for Xbox 360, with several major titles and the first year of the Kinect accessory, it was also the year that launched Nintendo 3DS.
Not surprisingly, the best-selling console of 2020 is the Nintendo Switch, followed by the PlayStation 5 in the value ranking and the PlayStation 4 in the number of units displaced.
“Nintendo Switch’s annual hardware sales in dollars were the second highest for a single platform in a single calendar year in U.S. history,” Piscatella said. “Only the 2008 dollar sales of Nintendo Wii were higher.”
Money spent on gaming accessories also increased 21% in 2020, to a total of $ 2.6 billion. Sony’s DualSense wireless controller was the best-selling gamepad of 2020, while the Turtle Beach Ear Force Recon 70 Black gaming headset for Xbox was the best-selling headset of the year.
The NPD report also highlighted the December 2020 best-sellers, with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War taking first place, followed by Cyberpunk 2077 (for which digital sales were not tracked) and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Consumer spending broke records in December, to $ 7.7 billion, 25% more than the year-on-year rate.
Hardware sales in December rose 38% to $ 1.22 billion, the highest total for a month in December since 2013. The Nintendo Switch was also December’s best-selling platform.
These are the 20 best games (physical and digital) of 2020 ranked in sales in dollars, data provided by NPD:
| Position | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (Activision Blizzard) |
| 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Activision Blizzard) |
| 3 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons * (Nintendo) |
| 4 | Madden NFL 21 (EA) |
| 5 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (Ubisoft) |
| 6 | The Last of Us: Part II (Sony) |
| 7 | Ghost of Tsushima (Sony) |
| 8 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe * (Nintendo) |
| 9 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars * (Nintendo) |
| 10 | Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Square Enix) |
| 11 | Marvel’s Avengers (Square Enix) |
| 12 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Sony) |
| 13 | NBA 2K21 * (Take-Two Interactive) |
| 14 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate * (Nintendo) |
| 15 | FIFA 21 (EA) |
| 16 | Mortal Kombat 11 (Warner Bros.) |
| 17 | Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (Bandai Namco) * |
| 18 | MLB: The Show 20 (Sony) |
| 19 | Cyberpunk 2077 * (Warner Bros.) |
| 20 | Pro Skater 1 + 2 by Tony Hawk (Activision Blizzard) |
* Digital sales not included