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US game spending up 3% to $4.4bn in September, says NPD

PS5 ends Nintendo Switch's 33-month run as top game console in units sold

September saw US consumer spending on games reach $4.4 billion, a 3% increase year-on-year, according to the latest NPD data.

Year-to-date spending reached $42.3 billion, which is a 12% rise compared to the same time in 2020.

Spending on hardware increased 49% year-on-year, to reach $412 million. Year-to-date hardware spending saw growth of 49%, reaching $3.4 billion.

September broke the 33-month streak of the Nintendo Switch leading hardware sales, as the month saw the PlayStation 5 as the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars.

For games, Madden NFL 22 remained at No.1 since releasing on August 17. However, the month saw a number of new releases on the best-selling charts.

FIFA 22 came in second on the charts as NBA 2K22 was third. Tales of Arise from Bandai Namco was the fourth best-selling title while Diablo II: Resurrected placed fifth. Arkane Studios' latest FPS action title Deathloop was in sixth place as Square Enix's Life is Strange: True ColorS joined as tenth.

Overall spending on gaming content (including subscriptions and cloud gaming) was flat year-over-year at $3.78 billion.

Accessories spending was down by 12% year-on-year, totaling $171 million, while year-to-date accessory sales saw a 9% increase to $1.8 billion.

Here are the US Top 20 (based on dollar sales) for the period between 8/29/2021 through 10/2/2021, courtesy of The NPD Group:

Last Month This Month Title
1 1 Madden NFL 22
NEW 2 FIFA 22
NEW 3 NBA 2K22*
NEW 4 Tales of Arise
NEW 5 Diablo II: Resurrected
NEW 6 Deathloop
3 7 Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War
2 8 Ghost of Tsushima
5 9 Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
NEW 10 Life is Strange: True Colors
6 11 Mario Kart 8*
NEW 12 Diablo Prime Evil Collection
NEW 13 Sonic Colors: Ultimate
8 14 Minecraft
NEW 15 WarioWare: Get It Together!*
9 16 Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
11 17 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
14 18 Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
12 19 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
16 20 Mortal Kombat 11

*Digital sales not included

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Jeffrey Rousseau

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Jeffrey Rousseau joined GamesIndustry.biz in March 2021. Based in Florida, his work focused on the intersectionality of games and media. He enjoys reading, podcasts, staying informed, and learning how people are tackling issues.