Best-Selling Games And Consoles Of January 2022 Revealed For The US: Pokemon And PS5

The NPD Group has released its latest report, this one showing which games, consoles, and accessories sold the best in January 2022 in the US. The two biggest takeaways were that the Nintendo Switch fell from its top spot on the hardware sales chart and Pokemon Legends: Arceus was January's best-selling game.

Starting with hardware, the PS5 was the best-seller for January 2022 for both units and dollars. The Xbox Series family of systems ranked second, and there was no mention of Switch, but presumably it finished third. Total spending on hardware rose 22% to $390 million. It was the biggest January since January 2009 ($447 million).

Moving to game sales, Pokemon Legends: Arceus was the top-seller for January 2022, despite launching very late in the month (January 28). In fact, NPD's reporting period ended on January 29, so Legends Arceus was the biggest game of January after only 1-2 days of accounting.

Call of Duty: Vanguard finished second in January, followed by Monster Hunter Rise, Madden NFL 22, and God of War to round out the top five. The NPD noted that Monster Hunter Rise and God of War surged up the charts thanks to launching on Steam.

For mobile games, spending dropped 6.8% year-over-year, as the category shifted back to pre-pandemic revenue trends, the NPD said. The organization said the "cooldown" in spending is not reflective of a weakening mobile market but instead it highlights the "return of typical seasonality..."

Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, Coin Master, Genshin Impact, Garena Free Fire, Evony: The King's Return, Clash of Clans, Pokemon Go, Homescapes, and Royal Match were some of the biggest performers in January 2022.

Accessories, meanwhile, saw sales decline 15% year-over-year, to $185 million. The Xbox Elite Series 2 controller was January's best-seller in the accessories category.

In total--across hardware, games, and accessories--spending on games in the US fell 2% during January 2022 to $4.7 billion. While console sales saw double-digit growth, it wasn't enough to offset the drop in spending for games and accessories.

January 2022 Top 20 Best-Selling Games

1. Pokemon Legends: Arceus
2. Call of Duty: Vanguard
3. Monster Hunter: Rise
4. Madden NFL 22
5. God of War
6. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
7. FIFA 22
8. Mario Kart 8*
9. Rainbow Six: Extraction
10. Battlefield 2042
11. Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl*
12. Far Cry 6
13. Minecraft
14. NBA 2K22*
15. Mario Party Superstars*
16. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
17. Forza Horizon 5
18. Halo Infinite
19. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
20. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

*Digital sales not included

Top Nintendo Games January 2022

1. Pokemon Legends: Arceus*
2. Mario Kart 8*
3. Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl*
4. Mario Party Superstars*
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
7. Just Dance 2022
8. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
9. Super Mario 3D World*
10. New Super Mario Bros.*

*Digital sales not included

Top PlayStation Games January 2022

1. Call of Duty: Vanguard
2. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
3. Madden NFL 22
4. FIFA 22
5. Rainbow Six: Extraction
6. Ghost of Tsushima
7. Marvel's Spider-Man
8. Battlefield 2042
9. NBA 2K22*
10. Far Cry 6

*Digital sales not included

Top Xbox Games January 2022

1. Call of Duty: Vanguard
2. Madden NFL 22
3. Far Cry 6
4. Battlefield 2042
5. Halo: Infinite
6. Forza Horizon 5
7. Rainbow Six: Extraction
8. NBA 2K22*
9. FIFA 22
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

*Digital sales not included