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After a brief uptick last month, hardware sales have fallen again, according to industry tracking firm The NPD Group. The continued scarcity of consoles coupled with relatively quiet release times seem to have put the industry in a bit of a rut.
| May 2022 Dollar sales, millions of dollars | May 2021 | May 2022 | Change |
| Total video game sales | $4,522 | $3,680 | -19% |
| Video Game Content (Full physical & digital games, DLC/MTX and consumer subscription spend across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms)) | $4,136 | $3,332 | -19% |
| Video game hardware | $244 | $216 | -11% |
| Video game accessories | $142 | $131 | -7% |
“Consumer spending in May 2022 on video game hardware, content and accessories fell 19% from a year ago, to 3.7,” said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. billion dollars”. “This is the lowest total monthly spend the industry has achieved since February 2020 ($3.5 billion).”
However, this is not a big surprise. After many huge releases earlier this year, the summer hasn’t seen many significant games launch. The control panel is also very difficult to use. But gamers are still spending money, with the Nintendo Switch leading in hardware sales.
| Year-to-date dollar sales 2022, millions of dollars | YTD 2021 | YTD 2022 | Change |
| Total video game sales | 24,409 USD | $21,938 | -ten% |
| Video Game Content (Full physical & digital games, DLC/MTX and consumer subscription spend across Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR platforms)) | $21,449 | 19,305 dollars | -ten% |
| Video game hardware | $1,944 | $1,759 | -9% |
| Video game accessories | $1,017 | $875 | -14% |
Piscatella said, “Spending to date has reached $21.9 billion, down 10% year-on-year in 2021. Subscriptions are the only category showing year-over-year spending growth. “.
May 2022 NPD: Top 20 best-selling games of the month in the US
NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but it also pulls digital data directly from publishers. Not all companies participate. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share first-party sales, and Activision Blizzard doesn’t provide their Battle.net sales.
These charts are sorted by dollar sales – not the number of units sold. And this is for full game sales and does not include in-game spending.
| Places | Last month places |
All platforms | Publishing company |
| first | 2 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2 | first | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros interaction. |
| 3 | 5 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 4 | NEW | Evil Dead: Games | Saber Interactive |
| 5 | 3 | MLB: The Show 22 ^ | Many video game makers |
| 6 | 4 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land* | Nintendo |
| 7 | 6 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 8 | 8 | Mario Kart 8 * | Nintendo |
| 9 | 9 | Gran Turismo 7 | Sony (Corp) |
| ten | ten | Pokémon Legend: Arceus * | Nintendo |
| 11 | 11 | Minecraft | Many video game makers |
| twelfth | 7 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (Corp) |
| 13 | 16 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons * | Nintendo |
| 14 | 14 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate * | Nintendo |
| 15 | 13 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 16 | twelfth | FIFA 22 | Electronic art |
| 17 | 18 | Mario Party Superstars * | Nintendo |
| 18 | 45 | Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl | Nintendo |
| 19 | 23 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 20 | 34 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Many video game makers |
| *Does not include digital sales | |||
| ^ Xbox & Switch Digital Sales Not Included |
After briefly dominating Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Elden Ring is back at the top as the best-selling game of the month. According to Piscatella, it is the best-selling game on Steam and Xbox, and the second-best-selling game on PlayStation. The Lego title was forced to take the silver medal, but Horizon: Forbidden West failed the most, falling out of the top 10 altogether.
Evil Dead: Games
The only new game to appear on the best-selling chart for the month of May was Evil Dead: The Game. While the game is a good one, the fact that it’s the only title to appear on the list isn’t due to a lack of release rather than a multitude of bestsellers. May has had a light release sheet, with other launches including games like Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, Trek to Yomi and Salt and Sacrifice.
Piscatella speculates about Twitter that high daily expenses can also have an impact on low numbers. Consumers are also turning back to “spending on experience” instead of buying items like games.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Curiously, Skyrim has reappeared in the top 20 for the first time since November 2017. While Skyrim has already appeared in the top 20. around In a peripheral sense since it launched more than ten years ago, it’s still a bit of a surprise to have suddenly climbed into the top 20.
According to Piscatella, one possible cause for this is the release of the Steam Deck. Another possibility is that Bethesda RPG fans are treating themselves to a familiar game following Starfield’s announced delay.
May 2022 NPD: 20 best selling games of 2022 so far
| Places | Last Month Places |
All platforms | Publishing company |
| first | first | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2 | 2 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros interaction. |
| 3 | 3 | Pokémon Legend: Arceus * | Nintendo |
| 4 | 4 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (Corp) |
| 5 | 5 | MLB: The Show 22 ^ | Many video game makers |
| 6 | 7 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 7 | 6 | Gran Turismo 7 | Sony (Corp) |
| 8 | 8 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land* | Nintendo |
| 9 | ten | Mario Kart 8 * | Nintendo |
| ten | 9 | Madden NFL 22 | Electronic art |
| 11 | 11 | FIFA 22 | Electronic art |
| twelfth | 13 | Minecraft | Many video game makers |
| 13 | 33 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 14 | twelfth | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 15 | 15 | Monster Hunter: Rise up | American Capcom |
| 16 | 14 | Dying Light 2: Stay human | Square Enix Inc (Corp) |
| 17 | 17 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Nintendo |
| 18 | 16 | Mario Party Superstars * | Nintendo |
| 19 | 18 | Super Smash Bros. | Nintendo |
| 20 | 20 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| *Does not include digital sales | |||
| ^ Xbox & Switch Digital Sales Not Included |
May 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling games in 12 months
| Places | Last Month Places |
All platforms | Publishing company |
| first | first | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2 | 2 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 3 | 3 | Madden NFL 22 | Electronic art |
| 4 | 4 | Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond: Shining Pearl * | Nintendo |
| 5 | 6 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros interaction. |
| 6 | 5 | Battlefield 2042 | Electronic art |
| 7 | 8 | FIFA 22 | Electronic art |
| 8 | 7 | Far Cry 6 | Ubisoft |
| 9 | ten | Pokémon Legend: Arceus * | Nintendo |
| ten | 11 | Mario Kart 8 * | Nintendo |
| *Does not include digital sales |
May 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo platform games in the US
| Places | Last Month Places |
Nintendo Platform (Physical and full digital games from Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leaderboard) ranked based on dollar sales |
Publishing company |
| first | 3 | Nintendo Switch Sports * | Nintendo |
| 2 | 2 | Kirby and the Forgotten Land | Nintendo |
| 3 | first | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros interaction. |
| 4 | 4 | Mario Kart 8 * | Nintendo |
| 5 | 5 | Pokémon Legend: Arceus * | Nintendo |
| 6 | 7 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons * | Nintendo |
| 7 | 6 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate * | Nintendo |
| 8 | 8 | Mario Party Superstars * | Nintendo |
| 9 | 16 | Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl * | Nintendo |
| ten | 9 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
| *Does not include digital sales |
May 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling PlayStation platform games in the US
| Places | Last Month Places |
PlayStation Platform (Physical and full digital games from Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leaderboard) ranked based on dollar sales |
Publishing company |
| first | 2 | MLB: The Show 22 | Sony (Corp) |
| 2 | 3 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 3 | NEW | Evil Dead: Games | Saber Interactive |
| 4 | first | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros interaction. |
| 5 | 5 | Gran Turismo 7 | Sony (Corp) |
| 6 | 4 | Horizon II: Forbidden West | Sony (Corp) |
| 7 | 6 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 8 | 7 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 9 | 11 | Ghost of Tsushima | Sony (Corp) |
| ten | 14 | Minecraft | Microsoft (Corp) |
| *Does not include digital sales |
May 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Xbox games in the US
| Places | Last Month Places |
Xbox Platforms (Physical Digital and Full Games from Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM, and Xbox Platform for Publishers in the Digital Leaderboard) ranked by dollar sales la | Publishing company |
| first | 2 | Elden Ring | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| 2 | first | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Warner Bros interaction. |
| 3 | NEW | Evil Dead: Games | Saber Interactive |
| 4 | 3 | Call of Duty: Vanguard | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 5 | 4 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 6 | 9 | FIFA 22 | Electronic art |
| 7 | 6 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 8 | ten | Call of Duty: Black Ops III | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 9 | 5 | Forza Horizon 5 | Microsoft (Corp) |
| 20 | 7 | Halo: Infinite | Microsoft (Corp) |
| *Does not include digital sales |
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