The Best PS5 Games

The Switch’s unit and dollar sales last month were the highest of any hardware platform in a February since the Nintendo Wii back in February of 2009. Lifetime dollar sales of the Switch passed those of the Nintendo DS last month too, which makes the Switch the second best-selling Nintendo console in U.S. tracked history after the Wii, and the seventh best-selling overall.

Elsewhere in video game numbers, consumer spending is up in a big way. “February 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories reached a February record $4.6 billion, 35% higher when compared to a year ago,” the NPD Group’s report reads. “Year-to-date spending totaled $9.3 billion, 39% higher than the same period in 2020.”

Monthly sales of hardware increased by 121% this February compared to last February for a total of $406 million, which is the highest total since February 2011 when video game spending reached $468 million.

On the software side of things, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury took first place as the best-selling game for February 2021 in the U.S., and it’s also the second best-selling game of 2021, despite a lack digital sales tracking for Nintendo games, according to the NPD Group. Little Nightmares II, which debuted in February, was the sixth best-selling game of the month, fifth best-selling game on Xbox platforms, and 10th best-selling game on PlayStation platforms.

Video game accessory spending reached $195 million in February 2021 in the U.S., which is 41% higher than last February and the PS5 DualSense controller was the accessory with the most dollar sales for the month.

Catch up on last month’s NPD numbers and then read about how the Switch was the number one console in the U.S. last year. Check out this story about a new Switch with a larger screen and 4K output reportedly in the works after that.

Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.