PS5 Had The Biggest Launch Month In US History

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S console sales helped set a new record for video game hardware sales according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. Most notably, Sony's PS5 achieved the highest launch month sales of a console in US history, topping the previous record help by PS4.

"Consumers spent a November record $1.4 billion on new video game hardware, an increase of 58% when versus a year ago," NPD analyst Mat Piscatella explained. "Growth was driven by the launches of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles. Year-to-date hardware spending reached $4 billion, 34% higher than a year ago."

The top-selling next-gen console of the month was the PS5, although both systems would likely have sold even more units if supply had been able to meet demand. The PS5 achieved the highest launch month for both unit and dollar sales for a video game hardware platform in US history, shattering the November 2013 record that had been held by the PS4.

Sony's DualSense controller also made a big impression on the market, achieving "the highest launch month unit and dollar sales for a gamepad in U.S. history," according to Piscatella. Nintendo's Switch console still performed extremely well in November, outselling the PS5 and becoming the best-selling hardware platform in units sold for a record 24 consecutive months. It's worth noting though that the Nintendo Switch retails for $300 and the Switch Lite will cost you $200, which resulted in the PS5 still generating more overall revenue with its $500 console model and the $400 PS5 Digital Edition.

Software sales also made substantial gains, as well as jumping up 32% when compared to last year thanks to the combination of highly-anticipated games on current and next-gen consoles.

Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War is the best-selling game of its release month for the 13th consecutive year, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla was the second best-selling game of November as it earned the highest launch month sales for an Assassin's Creed franchise title since 2012's Assassin's Creed III, and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales took third place on the November charts.