Pokémon topped US game sales in January, but PS5 and Xbox outsold Switch

Pokémon Legends: Arceus was January’s No.1 game in the US based on dollar sales.

The game knocked Call of Duty Vanguard off the top spot last month, according to data released on Friday by research firm NPD Group.

Following their Steam releases in January, Monster Hunter: Rise charted at No.3 (up from No.94 in December) and God of War ranked No.5 (up from No.146).

•  Further reading: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release date, trailer, pre-order and starters

Aside from Legends: Arceus, the only other new entry to make the top 20 chart was Rainbow Six Extraction at No.9.

Last month’s No.6, the 2020 release Spider-Man: Miles Morales, now trails only Marvel’s Spider-Man and God of War (both 2018 releases) in lifetime dollar sales for Sony games published since 1995, according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella.

While Pokémon led January software sales (Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl also charted at No.11), Nintendo Switch came in third place on the hardware sales front.

PS5 was the top hardware platform last month in both unit and dollar sales, while Xbox Series X/S was second on both counts.

Hardware dollar sales totalled $390 million, the highest on record for the month of January since $447 million was generated in 2009.

Related

7

Review: Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the series’ best game in years

Game Freak has finally delivered the open-world adventure that so many fans have been asking for

However, last month’s overall consumer spending across hardware, content and accessories of $4.7 billion was down 2% compared to January 2021.

Nintendo recently claimed that Pokémon Legends: Arceus sold 6.5 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling series entry for Switch.

Pokémon Sword and Shield, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, each sold six million units in their first week.