The numbers are in, and the Nintendo Switch was 2022’s best-selling console of the year in the United States based on units sold, according to NPD. The system that drove the most dollar sales in 2022, however, was the PlayStation 5 due in part to its bigger sticker price relative to the Switch.
For December 2022 specifically, the PS5 ranked No. 1 for dollar sales and the Switch topped the charts for unit sales. Spending on hardware in December grew by 16% to $1.5 billion, while hardware revenue for the full year of 2022 in the US reached $6.6 billion, which was up 8% year-over-year.
The NPD report had no information at all about how the Xbox platform performed in December 2022 or the full year of 2022.
Spending on console games for December 2022 in the US fell by 1% to $5.5 billion, while game sales for the full year of 2022 declined 7% to $47.5 billion. Every segment in gaming content except subscription experienced year-over-year declines. Mobile games specifically saw declines for 2022, with shooter games in particular seeing pronounced dropoffs in 2022, falling by 26% year-over-year.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II was the No. 1 best-selling game in the US for December 2022 and the full year. You can see the full top 10 sales chart here.
For all sectors combined, total spending on the video game market reached $7.6 billion for December 2022 (+2%) and $56.6 billion (-5%) for the full year. The NPD said the fact that new consoles continued to experience “supply constraints” contributed to the year-over-year downturn in total sales in 2022, as well as a “relatively light” lineup of new games and macroeconomic conditions.
For its part, Sony believes the PS5 shortage is basically over.
