Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Switch were tops in January - NPD

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Nintendo Switch once again dominated US retail in January, according to NPD.

The NPD January 2021 report has been released, and it finds total industry spending in January 2021 reached a January record of $4.7 billion, 4which is 42% higher year-over-year.

Hardware dollar sales reached $319 million, which is 144% higher than in January 2020, making it the highest total January month since 2011 when $$323 million was achieved.

Once again, Nintendo Switch was the best-selling hardware platform in units sold and was the highest of any January month since the Wii in January 2010.
Like December, PlayStation 5 was the best-selling hardware platform in dollars sold in January, with the highest dollar sales total for a January month since the Wii in January 2009.

In software, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was once again the best-selling game, and has been every month since its November launch. It is now the 20th best-selling video game in US history in tracked dollar sales.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla was the second best-selling game of January, and is now the second fastest-selling game in the Assassin's Creed franchise in the US behind Assassin's Creed 3.

Switch's best-selling title for the month, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, was fifth on the software chart.

A look at the best-selling games for January can be found below. The best-selling games for individual consoles for January can be found in the gallery.

Spending on video game accessories reached $222 million, which is a 73% year-over-year bump. The Gamepad, Headset/Headphone, and Steering Wheel segments all achieved new January dollar sales records.

The PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller White was once again the best-selling accessory.