Something finally dethroned the Nintendo Switch as the best selling console in the US for a month. Taking the top spot on the NPD charts, PS5 outsold Switch to become the best-selling console for September 2021, ending a 33-month streak for Nintendo’s hybrid console handheld. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella shared the results via the September 2021 NPD report, which highlights PlayStation 5 taking the top spot for both dollar sales and units sold. The last time a console outsold the Switch in units was November 2018, when the PS4 sat at the top of the charts.
US NPD HW – September 2021 snaps the remarkable 33 consecutive month streak that Nintendo Switch was the market’s leading platform in hardware unit sales. November 2018 was the last month a platform other than Nintendo Switch led the market in unit sales (PlayStation 4).
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2021
Piscatella also pointed out in multiple replies that the PS5’s lead may have as much to do with simple supply as much as anything else right now, and it could have won the month just because Sony was able to feed more consoles into the market than Nintendo. After all, Nintendo was gearing up to launch the Switch OLED in October, which many presume will ensure Nintendo returns to the top spot on this month’s NPD report.
Hardware rankings have as much to do with supply as anything right now. It’s possible, but it depends on production and shipping capacities.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2021
I think it’s more reflective of supply at this point. Sony was able to get a big number of PS5s into the market, while Switch was ramping up for OLED release. Tough to say, sales curves aren’t normalized right now.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2021
He’s also pointed out that the video game markets can be unpredictable and chaotic in the best of times, but currently everything so chaotic that “everyone knows that no one really knows what will happen next.”
Elsewhere on the charts, software saw sports games take the top spots, with Madden NFL 22, FIFA 22, and NBA 2K22 sitting as the top three PlayStation games for September 2021, as well as top three for all platforms. Deathloop and Tales of Arise took the next spots on the PlayStation list, while Diablo II: Resurrected earned a place as well. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War did fall a couple of notches as the release of the next title approaches, but still managed to come in at ninth for the month.
US NPD SW – September 2021 PlayStation Platforms Top 10 Best-Sellers pic.twitter.com/rJJq4XkB2I
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2021
US NPD SW – September 2021 Top 20 Sellers pic.twitter.com/NSuosSURPP
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2021
Of course, looking at year-to-date and the 12-month-rolling period ending in September 2021, Black Ops Cold War sat happily at the top of the charts. It’s expected that only the next Call of Duty title, Vanguard, will dethrone it. Vanguard launches on November 5th.
US NPD SW – 12 Months Rolling Ending September 2021 Top 10 Sellers pic.twitter.com/LKfsq9x3Qv
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2021
The PS5 has previously taken the crown in terms of dollars sold, but this is the first time the console has hit the top of the NPD charts with units, though again it’s noted that supply constraints keep sales numbers firmly within whatever supply each company is able to put on the market each month. Still, it’s impressive that the PS5 managed to dethrone the Switch as the best-selling console after nearly three years of Nintendo holding that top spot, even if the title is expected to just revert back next month.
