Nintendo Switch: 2020 Sees the Second-Highest Annual Dollar Sales in US Console History

Nintendo Switch was the number one console in the US in 2020, for both units sold and dollars made – and had the second-best year for dollar sales in US console history, only trailing the Wii's spectacular 2008. The NPD's Mat Piscatella revealed the facts on Twitter, as part of a breakdown of December 2020 video game sales. During last month, spending across hardware, content and accessories hit $7.7 billion – a 25% rise, year-on-year – with $1.35 billion of that coming from hardware. Piscatella revealed that Switch was the best seller in both units sold and money made during that month, capping off an incredible year for the Nintendo handheld, which gives it the second-highest yearly dollar sales in US history.

US NPD HW - Nintendo Switch was the best-selling hardware platform in units and dollars for both December and the 2020 year. Annual dollar sales of Switch hardware were the 2nd highest for a platform in U.S. history. Only the 2008 dollar sales of Nintendo Wii were higher.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) January 15, 2021

That's a feat made more remarkable by the fact that there were comparatively few major Switch releases during the year, besides the admittedly huge success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. PlayStation 5 came in as the second best-selling console for dollar sales, with PS4 ranking at second for units sold. PS5 made more money in its first December than any previous PlayStation system did during the same period in the US. The NPD's stats say that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War became the US' best-selling game of December, and 2020 as a whole. In second place? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. However, Animal Crossing: New Horizons – which sits in third – includes no digital sales figures, meaning it could well be placed higher in actuality. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/nintendo-reveals-mario-special-edition-switch-console-ign-news"] With what could be a much busier year ahead for Nintendo, not to mention persistent rumours of a Switch Pro model to be announced, it'll be very interesting to see if Switch can continue that momentum – particularly as the PS5 and Xbox Series platforms begin to see more exclusives emerge. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.