The PlayStation 5 launch broke US hardware sales records

The PlayStation 5 launch broke hardware sales records in the US last month, according to data from market research firm the NPD Group.

Sony’s console enjoyed the highest launch month of any gaming hardware platform in terms of both unit and dollar sales, records which were previously held by PS4.

The launch of Xbox Series X/S last month also contributed to a November record $1.4 billion being spent on new video game hardware, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella reported on Friday.

While PS5 was November’s top-selling hardware platform in terms of overall consumer spending, Nintendo Switch sold 1.35 million units to become the best-selling console in the US for a record-breaking 24th consecutive month.

It’s unclear how the picture might have differed had Sony’s and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles not been so heavily supply constrained.

“Xbox Series didn’t set a new record, but also immediately and completely sold out”, Piscatella said.

US consumer spending on hardware, software and accessories totalled $7 billion last month, which was also a November record.

NPD said PS5’s heavily praised DualSense controller recorded the highest launch month unit and dollar sales for a gamepad in US history.

On the software front, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War’s launch was strong enough to make it the best-selling game of 2020 year-to-date based on just 18 days’ sales.

Black Ops Cold War was among the first next-gen games to retail for $70, a price increase which had “no obvious” negative impact, according to Piscatella.

It marks the 13th consecutive year a Call of Duty game has topped the software chart in the month of its release. The second best-selling game of the year so far is 2019’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare.

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla debuted at No.2 on the software chart with the franchise’s strongest launch month sales since 2012’s Assassin’s Creed III. It’s already the seventh best-selling game in the US year to date.

The other new entries in November’s top 20 chart were Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales at No.3, Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity at No.6, Demon’s Souls at No.10, and Just Dance 2021 at No.13.

PS5 also enjoyed a record-breaking launch in the UK, which VGC understands saw it surpass the 250,000 consoles sold during PS4’s launch.

In a statement released in late November, Sony suggested PS5 had enjoyed the biggest console launch in history following “unprecedented” demand.

Further reading

PS5 is outselling Xbox Series X/S consoles 2-to-1 on a popular reseller site

StockX says users have resold over 60,000 next-gen consoles