Nintendo Switch Now The Best-Selling Console Ever In The US (Over Its First Year)

The NPD Group today released its report for February 2018 game and hardware sales in the United States, and among the noteworthy takeaways is that the Nintendo Switch continues to sell incredibly well. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said in a statement that the Switch, over its first 12 months on the market, has reached the "highest installed base for a console platform in history." What that sounds like is that, over its first year, Nintendo's hybrid console is selling better than the PS4 and Xbox One over their respective first years.

It's not a big surprise, though. After all, the Switch was the top-selling console in US history over its first 10 months. Nintendo hasn't said exactly how many Switch units it has sold in the US or other parts of the world specifically. Globally, the Switch has sold 14.86 million units worldwide as of December 31, according to Nintendo's own public data.

For February, Sony's PS4 was the best-selling console of the month and it is still the best-selling console so far this year. In total, hardware spending in the US reached $316 million, which is up by 55 percent. NPD said the growth was driven by Switch and Xbox One sales. Another notable takeaway is that February's total hardware spending was the highest for a February since February 2014 ($345 million).

Turning to game sales, Monster Hunter: World was the month's best-selling game, pushing its win streak to two months at No. 1. Call of Duty: WWII was No. 2 for February, while NBA 2K18, GTRA V, and Shadow of the Colossus made up the rest of the top five in that order. Other interesting takeaways is that Mario Kart 8 is back at No. 1 for the Switch-specific chart for the first time since May 2017. Additionally, Nintendo was the biggest game publisher based on dollar sales for the month. You can see all the top charts below.

The Accessories and Gamecards category, meanwhile, saw sales jump 35 percent to $282 million. That's a new record for February in NPD's history, beating the previous record of $262 million from February 2016. The black DualShock 4 was the best-selling accessory in February, and it's still the top-selling accessory for all of 2018.

Overall, covering games and hardware, total video game spending jumped 23 percent to $995 million in February, while year to date total spending rose 39 percent to $2.1 billion.

February 2018 Top 20 All Platforms

*Titles marked with an asterisk do not include digital sales*

1. Monster Hunter World
2. Call of Duty: WWII
3. NBA 2K18
4. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. Shadow of the Colossus
7. EA Sports UFC 3
8. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
9. Mario Kart 8*
10. Super Mario Odyssey*
11. Rainbow Six Siege
12. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
13. PUBG*
14. Bayonetta*
15. Madden NFL 18
16. Assassin's Creed Origins
17. FIFA 18*
18. Sword Art Online: Fata Bullet
19. The Sims 4*
20. Star Wars: Battlefront II*

February 2018 Top 10 Xbox One Games

1. Monster Hunter: World
2. PUBG
3. Call of Duty: WWII
4. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
5. NBA 2K18
6. Dragon Ball Fighterz
7. EA Sports UFC 3
8. GTA V
9. Rainbow Six Siege
10. Assassin's Creed: Origins

February 2018 Top 10 PS4 Games

1. Monster Hunter: World
2. Shadow of the Colossus
3. Call of Duty: WWII
4. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
5. EA Sports UFC 3
6. NBA 2K18
7. GTA V
8. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
9. Madden NFL 18
10. Rainbow Six Siege

February 2018 Top 10 Nintendo Switch

1. Mario Kart 8*
2. Super Mario Odyssey*
3. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
4. Bayonetta 2*
5. Splatoon 2*
6. Pokken Tournament DX*
7. Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
8. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
9. Arms
10. Dragon Quest: Builders

February 2018 Top 10 3DS Games

1. Pokemon Ultra Sun*
2. Pokemon Ultra Moon*
3. Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology*
4. Mario Kart 7*
5. Minecraft*
6. Super Smash Bros.*
7. Mario Party: The Top 100*
8. Super Mario Maker*
9. Kirby: Battle Royale*
10. Super Mario 3D Land*

Top 10 Games 2018 Year-To-Date

1. Monster Hunter: World
2. Dragon Ball: Fighterz
3. Call of Duty: WWII
4. GTA V
5. PUBG*
6. NBA 2K18
7. Super Mario Odyssey*
8. Mario Kart 8*
9. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
10. EA Sports UFC 3

Top 10 Games For Trailing 12 Months

1. Call of Duty: WWII
2. NBA 2K18
3. Destiny 2*
4. Madden NFL 18
5. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
6. GTA V
7. Star Wars: Battlefront II
8. Ghost Recon Wildlands
9. Super Mario Odyssey*
10. Mario Kart 8*