PlayStation 5 Is The Fastest Selling Console In US History

The PlayStation 5 has broken a major record by becoming the fastest selling console in US history. Coming by way of a thread for March 2021’s NPD data from Mat Piscatella of the NPD Group, Sony’s next generation console has sold more consoles in both units and dollar sales than any other console in US history during the first five months of their respective lifetimes.

This is an amazing achievement, not just for the simple fact that it shows how strong demand is for the console, but also because Sony was able to accomplish this feat during a pandemic. People are struggling to get their hands on PS5’s whenever they go on sale due to supply not being able to meet demand, meaning that every single console made is being sold almost instantly. It’s a very great start for the PlayStation 5 this generation, though we’ll have to see if the console is able to maintain this momentum as time goes on.

Sony and the PS5 weren’t the only winners in March. Nintendo continues to be on a roll with the Switch, as it was the best selling hardware for both unit and dollar sales in March. For this first quarter of the year, Nintendo had the most unit sales while Sony had the most dollar sales. When it comes to games there are some notable winners as well.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was the sixth best selling game in March, and is now the best selling racing game in US history. Importantly, the NPD Group’s data does not include digital sales for Nintendo first party games since Nintendo doesn’t release them. Capcom’s Monster Hunter: Rise was the second best selling game in March and the top selling game for the Switch. Its strong sales numbers also make it the second best selling game in the Monster Hunter franchise, coming in behind Monster Hunter World. Square Enix’s Outriders was the third best selling game for March and was also the third best selling game on both PlayStation and Xbox for the month. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was surprisingly the sixth best selling game of the past 12 months, besting both The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima. Lastly, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was the number one selling game of the month, as well as the best selling game of the quarter and the 12-month period from March 2020-March 2021.

The top 20 games of March 2021 are as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
2. Monster Hunter: Rise
3. Outriders
4. Super Mario 3D World
5. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
6. Mario Kart 8
7. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
8. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
9. Super Mario 3D All-Stars
10. Minecraft
11. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
12. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
13. Pokemon: Sword/Shield
14. Mortal Kombat 11
15. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
17. Madden NFL 21
18. NBA 2K21
19. Super Mario Party
20. FIFA 21

When it comes to accessories, the DualSense came out on top as the best selling in dollar sales for both the month of March and the first quarter of the year. This month saw a record $300 million in accessory sales for March which is 26% higher than it was last year. Accessory sales for the first quarter overall came out to $717 million, 42% higher than last year. Overall, consumer spending in March was 18% higher than last year, reaching a record $5.6 billion across hardware, software, and accessories. For the first quarter of the year as a whole, consumer spending was a total of $14.9 billion, coming out 30% higher than the first quarter of 2020.

All of the sales information here is truly fascinating to see. It all goes to show that game related sales aren’t slowing down at all, even though we’re still in the midst of a pandemic. Perhaps the PlayStation 5 will set another record in just a couple months. We’ll be sure to keep a close eye on all this and continue tracking the NPD’s as the year goes on.