February 2022 NPD: Elden Ring is a great success

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Elden Ring isn’t just buzz anymore. The game is out and is a certified blockbuster success, according to industry tracking company The NPD Group. And it’s also part of a group of games that has led the industry to total revenues of $4.67 billion. While that was lower year over year, it is still historically higher than in previous years. Here are the full results:

Feb 2022 Dollar Sales, MillionsFeb 2021Feb 2022ChangeTotal Video Game Sales$4,671$4,384-6%Video Game Content (Physical & Digital Full Game, DLC/MTX and Subscription Consumer Expenses on Console, Cloud, Mobile*, Portable, PC and VR) platforms)$4,071 $3,908- 4%Video Game Hardware$406$295-27%Video Game Accessories$194$180-7%

“In February 2022, consumer spending on video game hardware, content and accessories fell 6% from a year ago, to $4.4 billion,” said NPD analyst Mat Piscatella. “There were declines in all major spending categories, with hardware showing the largest year-over-year percentage decline. Year-to-date spending reached $9.1 billion, a decrease of 4% compared to the same period last year.”

One of the biggest barriers to sales is hardware. Just like last year, Microsoft and Sony are both in high demand for their new consoles. But unlike last year, neither company has much supply to meet demand.

However, software was also down. And that seems to be related to the hardware problem. When people bought PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in February 2021, they also bought a lot of games. In February 2022, they did the same, but again fewer people were able to pick up those consoles.

Let’s go to software sales charts.

February 2022 NPD: Top 20 Best Selling Games of the Month in the United States

NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but also gets digital data directly from publishers. Not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its first-party sales and Activision Blizzard doesn’t deliver its Battle.net sales.

These charts are sorted by dollar sales – not number of units sold. And this is for full game sales and does not include in-game expenses.

RankLast Month RankFebruary 2022 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM, and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) Ranked by Dollar Sales Publisher1NEWElden RingBandai Namco Entertainment2NEWHorizon II: Forbidden WestSony (Corp)31Pokemon Legends: Arceus *Nintendo4NEWDying Light 2: Stay Human*Square Enix Inc (Corp)5NEWTotal War: Warhammer IIISega62Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)74Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts88Mario Kart 8*Nintendo97FIFA 22Electronic Arts1513SuperMinecraft16MultiMashish Horizon Brittle. Ultimate*Nintendo1520Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)1657Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition*Multiple video game manufacturers1714NBA- 2K221811Take Brilliant Diamond/Shiny Pearl*Nintendo1912Far Cry 6Ubisoft2027The Breath Legend of the Wildlda Nintendo* Digital sales not included

February was a great sprint between some of the biggest games of the year so far. Dying Light 2, Horizon Forbidden West, and Elden Ring all debuted as Pokémon Legends Arceus entered its second month. Each game had a lot to offer. Horizon is a sequel to a $20 million seller. Dying Light 2 is also a sequel to a very popular game, but it is also multiplatform. Elden Ring is one of the most anticipated games of all time. And Pokémon is a perennial bestseller.

But with the results in, Elden Ring came out on top. More than that, it looks like the potential wasn’t even close (even if you added Pokémon digital sales for February).

Elden Ring

FromSoftware, the studio responsible for Elden Ring and Dark Souls, has transformed its niche audience into something formidable. But with Elden Ring, you can’t even call it a niche anymore. This is the new mainstream.

“Elden Ring debuted as both the best-selling game of February 2022 and 2022 to date,” said Piscatella. “Elden Ring sales in its launch month were the second highest for all tracked titles released in the past 12 months, with only Call of Duty: Vanguard releasing in November 2021. After a month on the market, Elden Ring was the 5th best-selling game of the 12-month period ending February 2022. Elden Ring was ranked number one on Steam and Xbox platforms in February and number two on PlayStation.”

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon’s runner-up in February is also impressive as a PlayStation exclusive. Although it’s a cross-gen game, it’s clear that many fans consider it a must-have for the PS5.

“Horizon Forbidden West was the second best-selling game of February 2022, and also ranked number one on PlayStation platforms,” said Piscatella. “The dollar sales of the PlayStation 5 version of Horizon II: Forbidden West set a new monthly record for the PlayStation 5 platform.”

Total War: Warhammer III

“Total War: Warhammer III debuted as the No. 5 best-selling game of February 2022, while also reaching number two on Steam,” said Piscatella. “The title was also launched as part of the PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription services.”

February 2022 NPD: 20 best-selling games of 2022 so far

RankLast Month RankYTD 2022 Top 20 games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked by dollar sales Publisher1NEWElden RingBandai Namco Entertainment21Pokemon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo3NEWHorizon II: Forbidden WestSony ( )42Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)54Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts6NEWDying Light 2: Stay Human*Square Enix Inc (Corp)73Monster Hunter: RiseCapcom USA8NEWTotal War: Warhammer IIISega95God of War (2018)Sony (Corp)106Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Spider-Man: Spider-Man: Miles Spider-Man: MoralesSony (Corp)118Mario Kart 8*Nintendo127FIFA 22Electronic Arts1313MinecraftMultiple Video Game Manufacturers1415Mario Party Superstars*Nintendo1516Animal Crossing: New Horizons*Nintendo1611Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/ShiningPearl1219ABNBindoryPearl1219Farmashincluded18N Sales

February 2022 NPD: Top 10 best-selling games of the past year

RankLast month Rank12 months ending February 2022 Top 10 games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM, and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked by dollar sales Publisher11Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)22Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts33Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)44Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl*Nintendo5NEWelden RingBandai Namco Entertainment65Battlefield 2042Electronic Arts78Far Cry 6Ubisoft87Mario Kart 8*Nintendo10:El10ecResident USA12:El10ecResident

February 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best-selling Nintendo Platform Games in the US

RankLast Month RankFebruary 2022 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) by dollar sales Publisher11Pokemon Legends: Arceus*Nintendo22Mario Kart 8*Nintendo34Mario Party Superstars*Nintendo45Animal Crossing: New Horizons*Nintendo56Super Smashintendo:Super Smashintdo Pearl*Nintendo78The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*Nintendo89Super Mario 3D World*Nintendo97Just Dance 2022Ubisoft1010New Super Mario Bros.*Nintendo* Digital sales not included

February 2022 NPD: Top 10 Best Selling PlayStation Platform Games in the US

PlayStation Platforms RankLast Month Rank February 2022 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for Publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) Ranked by Dollar Sales Publisher1NEWHorizon II: Forbidden WestSony (Corp)2NEWelden RingBandai Namco Entertainment3NEWDying Light 2: Stay Human*Square Enix Inc (Corp) )41Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)53Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts62Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesSony (Corp)74FIFA 22Electronic Arts86Ghost of TsushimaSony (Corp)913Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)T109 Digital sales 2K Not included

February 2022 NPD: Top 10 Bestselling Xbox Platform Games in the US

Xbox Platforms RankLast Month Rank February 2022 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for Publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) Ranked by Dollar Sales Publisher1NEWelden RingBandai Namco Entertainment21Call of Duty: VanguardActivision Blizzard (Corp)3NEWdying Light 2: Stay Human*Square Enix Inc (Corp) 42Madden NFL 22Electronic Arts510Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold WarActivision Blizzard (Corp)66Forza Horizon 5Microsoft (Corp)75Halo: InfiniteMicrosoft (Corp)89FIFA 22Electronic Arts911Assassin’s Creed: ValhallaUbisoft103Far* Cry 6Ubisoft* Digital sales not included

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This post February 2022 NPD: Elden Ring is a great success

was original published at “https://venturebeat.com/2022/03/11/february-2022-npd-elden-ring-is-a-smash-hit/”