State of the market
December 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories fell 1% when compared to a year ago, to $7.5 billion. 2021 consumer spending reached a record $60.4 billion, 8% higher when compared to 2020.
US NPD HW - December video game hardware dollar sales declined 3% when compared to December 2020, to $1.3 billion. Despite the December declines, full-year 2021 hardware spending reached $6.1 billion, gaining 14% compared to 2020.
Hardware
Nintendo Switch was December 2021's best-selling hardware platform in units sold, while Switch and PlayStation 5 effectively tied for dollar sales leadership in the month. Nintendo Switch led 2021 hardware in both unit and dollar sales.
Software
Call of Duty: Vanguard was December's best-selling game. Call of Duty ranked as the best-selling video game franchise in tracked dollar sales for a record 13th consecutive year.
Halo: Infinite debuted as the #2 best-selling game of December 2021. Halo: Infinite ranked as the December's best-selling game on Xbox platforms, while also leading sales among tracked titles on PC.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl was the 3rd best-selling title of December 2021, ranking 1st on Nintendo platforms for both Dec as well as 2021. 2021 dollar sales of Pokémon franchise physical software reached its highest annual total since the year 2000.
Resident Evil: Village finished 2021 as the year's #8 best-selling game. Resident Evil franchise dollar sales reached a new all-time annual high for the U.S. market.
MLB The Show 21 was the 9th best-selling game of 2021, ranking 5th on PlayStation platforms, and 18th on Xbox (digital sales not included on Xbox platforms). MLB The Show 21 is the best-selling baseball game in U.S. history.
Software charts
Top 20
2021 Year To Date Top 20
Accessories
December 2021 spending on video game accessories declined 9% when compared to a year ago, to $493 million. 2021 sales of accessories totaled $2.7 billion, an increase of 2% when compared to a year ago.
The Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller was the best-selling accessory of December 2021, while the PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller White was 2021's best-seller.
UPDATE
Xbox #2 in Units for December 2021
PS5 #2 in Units YTD 2021