Video game sales continued expanding rapidly in February, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. This was due to ongoing excitement for the latest console hardware and a major new release from Nintendo. The business of games in the United States generated similar numbers in January, so the industry is kicking off 2021 with a winning streak.
“February 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories reached a February record $4.6 billion,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “[That is] 35% higher when compared to a year ago.”
| February 2021 Dollar Sales, Millions | Feb 2020 | Feb 2021 | Change | |
| Total Video Game Sales | $3,397 | $4,599 | 35% | |
| Video Game Hardware | $184 | $406 | 121% | |
| Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX, and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC, and VR) platforms) | $3,075 | $3,998 | 30% | |
| Video Game Accessories | $138 | $195 | 41% | |
| * Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower |
So far, 2021 is running well ahead of last year in terms of sales.
“Year-to-date spending totaled $9.3 billion, 39% higher than the same period in 2020,” said Piscatella.
| Year-to-Date 2021 Dollar Sales, Millions | YTD 2020 | YTD 2021 | Change | |
| Total Video Game Sales | $6,718 | $9,312 | 39% | |
| Video Game Hardware | $315 | $725 | 130% | |
| Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription consumer spending across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR) platforms) | $6,137 | $8,171 | 33% | |
| Video Game Accessories | $266 | $417 | 57% | |
| * Mobile spending provided by Sensor Tower |
Let’s get to the sales charts.
February 2021 NPD: The top 20 best-selling games of the month in the U.S.
NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but it also gets digital data directly from publishers. But not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its first-party sales, and Activision Blizzard does not provide its Battle.net sales.
These charts are sorted by dollar sales — not number of units sold. And this is for full-game sales and does not include in-game spending.
| Rank | Last Month Rank | February 2021 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 | NEW | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury* | Nintendo |
| 2 | 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 3 | NEW | Persona 5: Strikers | Sega/Atlus |
| 4 | 3 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 5 | 4 | Madden NFL 21 | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | NEW | Little Nightmares II | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 7 | 2 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Ubisoft |
| 8 | 6 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 5 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 10 | 8 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 11 | 12 | FIFA 21 | Electronic Arts |
| 12 | 10 | NBA 2K21* | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 13 | 9 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 14 | 14 | Mortal Kombat 11 | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 15 | 11 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars* | Nintendo |
| 16 | 7 | Ring Fit Adventure* | Nintendo |
| 17 | 15 | Just Dance 2021 | Ubisoft |
| 18 | 17 | Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 19 | 16 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
| 20 | 13 | Immortals: Fenyx Rising | Ubisoft |
| * Digital sales not included |
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
Nintendo’s rerelease of Super Mario 3D World was a massive hit for the publisher.
“Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury debuts as the best-selling game of February,” said Piscatella. “The title also ranks as the second best-selling game of 2021 year to date, despite the lack of digital sales tracking for Nintendo published titles.”
Little Nightmares II
Bandai Namco’s horror platformer Little Nightmares II also had a strong debut month.
“Little Nightmares II launched as the sixth best-selling game of February,” said Piscatella. “Little Nightmares II ranked as the fifth best-selling game on Xbox platforms, while placing 10th on PlayStation.”
Top 20 best-selling games of 2021 so far
| Rank | Year-to-Date Ending February 2021 Top 10 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 | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury* | Nintendo | |
| 3 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) | |
| 4 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Ubisoft | |
| 5 | Madden NFL 21 | Electronic Arts | |
| 6 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe* | Nintendo | |
| 7 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo | |
| 8 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Activision Blizzard (Corp) | |
| 9 | Persona 5: Strikers | Sega/Atlus | |
| 10 | Ring Fit Adventure | Nintendo | |
| * Digital sales not included |
Top 10 best-selling games of the last 12 months
| Rank | Last Month Rank | 12 Months Ending February 2021 Top 10 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 | 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 2 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 3 | 3 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 4 | 4 | Madden NFL 21 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | 5 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Ubisoft |
| 6 | 6 | The Last of Us: Part II | Sony (Corp) |
| 7 | 7 | Ghost of Tsushima | Sony (Corp) |
| 8 | 10 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 9 | 9 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars* | Nintendo |
| 10 | 8 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe* | Nintendo |
| * Digital sales not included |
February 2021 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo-platform games in the U.S.
| Rank | Last Month Rank | February 2021 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW | Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury* | Nintendo |
| 2 | 2 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe* | Nintendo |
| 3 | 1 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 4 | 4 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 5 | 5 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars* | Nintendo |
| 6 | 3 | Ring Fit Adventure* | Nintendo |
| 7 | 6 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
| 8 | 7 | Just Dance 2021 | Ubisoft |
| 9 | 8 | Super Mario Party* | Nintendo |
| 10 | 9 | New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe* | Nintendo |
| * Digital sales not included |
February 2021 NPD: Top 10 best-selling PlayStation-platform games in the U.S.
| Rank | Last Month Rank | February 2021 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 2 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 3 | NEW | Persona 5: Strikers | Sega/Atlus |
| 4 | 4 | Madden NFL 21 | Electronic Arts |
| 5 | 3 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Ubisoft |
| 6 | 5 | Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 7 | 9 | NBA 2K21 | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 8 | 8 | FIFA 21 | Electronic Arts |
| 9 | 10 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 10 | NEW | Little Nightmares II | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| * Digital sales not included |
February 2021 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Xbox-platform games in the U.S.
| Xbox Platforms | |||
| Rank | Last Month Rank | February 2021 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 3 | Madden NFL 21 | Electronic Arts |
| 3 | 2 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Ubisoft |
| 4 | 4 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 5 | NEW | Little Nightmares II | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 6 | 5 | Forza Horizon 4 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 7 | 8 | FIFA 21 | Electronic Arts |
| 8 | 9 | Minecraft: Xbox One Edition | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 9 | 12 | Mortal Kombat 11 | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 10 | 10 | UFC 4 | Electronic Arts |
| * Digital sales not included |
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Author: Jeff Grubb
Source: Venturebeat
