Xbox Series X/S Was Best-Selling Console In Dollar Sales In US Last Month And Overall First Quarter

  March 2022 was a great month for Microsoft because the Xbox Series X/S was the best-selling hardware platform last month in the U.S. in terms of dollar sales. It was also the best-selling console in dollar sales for the entire first quarter of the year. 

This news comes by way of The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella in his usual monthly NPD numbers round-up. While Xbox Series X/S took home the gold medal in terms of dollar sales, the Switch sold the most units in March 2022 and in the first quarter of the year. Xbox’s great March sales led to March 2022 being an all-time high March record for the hardware platform. NPD reports that previous Xbox bests for March were set in March 2011 (in terms of unit sales) and in March 2014 (in terms of dollar sales). 

Overall, hardware dollar sales dropped 24% in March 2022 compared to March 2021, to $515 million in total. First quarter sales reached $1.2 billion, which is down 15% compared to the first quarter of 2021. This decline in hardware sales led to an overall decline in video game spending in March 2022. 

“March 2022 spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories declined 15% vs YA, to $4.9 billion,” Piscatella writes on Twitter. “Declines were seen across all major categories of spend. First quarter 2022 spending fell 8% vs Q1 2021, to $13.9 billion.”

On the software side of things, despite big new tentpole releases like Gran Turismo 7, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and more, Elden Ring came out on top. Taking the throne of best-selling game of March 2022 after being the best-selling game in February too, Elden Ring experienced “double-digit percentage dollar sales growth compared to its Feb 2022 launch,” The NPD Group says. It was first place for dollar sales on PlayStation and Xbox platforms, and PC as well. 

Gran Turismo 7, which debuted near the start of March, was the second best-selling game of March 2022, ranking second (to Elden Ring) on PlayStation platforms. Its launch set a new all-time launch month dollar sales record for the franchise, according to NPD. 

Here’s a look at the top 20 best-selling video games of 2022: 

1. Elden Ring
2. Gran Turismo 7
3. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
4. MLB: The Show 22
5. Horizon Forbidden West
6. Pokémon Legends: Arceus
7. WWE 2K22
8. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
9. Call of Duty: Vanguard
10. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins
11. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
12. Ghostwire: Tokyo
13. FIFA 22
14. Minecraft
15. Madden NFL 22
16. Triangle Strategy
17. Mario Party Superstars
18. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
19. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
20. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

This list does not include digital sales. For more, be sure to read Piscatella’s entire NPD thread. After that, read Game Informer’s Elden Ring review and then read Game Informer’s Gran Turismo 7 review.

Source: Game Informer