The NPD Group has released its U.S. video game market report for the month of March 2021, revealing that the scantily available PlayStation 5 has become the fastest-selling console in the country’s history in terms of unit and dollar sales. This milestone is based on lifetime sales with five months on the market.
PS5 launch title Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales also set a new record for Sony Interactive Entertainment by outselling both Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part II in the U.S. This feat is particularly noteworthy because Miles Morales is an expansion rather than a full-fledged game.
Overall, hardware sales were up 47 percent year-on-year, setting a new record for a March month at $680 million. Previously, the record was held by March 2008, when U.S. video game hardware market stood at $552 million.
With March concluding the first quarter of 2021, NPD noted that Nintendo Switch led the market in terms of unit sales whereas PS5 took the crown in terms of dollar sales over the last three months.
In terms of software, three Sony-published titles made the top ten list of best-selling video games over the last 12 months. As previously mentioned, Miles Morales outsold both Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us II, ranking at number five amidst multiplatform juggernauts like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The Naughty Dog title took the seventh spot and the Sucker Punch hit claimed eighth position.
As far as accessories are concerned, DualSense led the category in terms of dollar sales for the month of March as well as the first quarter of 2021.
[Source: Mat Piscatella/NPD via ResetEra]
