The NPD Group has released their full North American sales data for January 2020, and it was yet another slow month for the industry. Consumers spent $678 million on games and hardware, down 26 percent compared to January 2019. Things were particularly ugly on the hardware front, with sales of $129 million, down a whopping 35 percent year-on-year. The Nintendo Switch was once again the top-selling console, but for the first time in a long while, Switch sales were actually down year-on-year.
On the software front, the big news was that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was finally dethroned after topping the NPD charts for three consecutive months. January’s top title was Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, which is the fastest-selling Dragon Ball game in history. CoD: Modern Warfare still held steady in the #2 position, while Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order managed to stick around at #4. It also seems Nintendo might have a sleeper hit on their hands with the exercise game Ring Fit Adventure, which crept back into the top 10.
Here are January’s top 20 games according to NPD:
Dragon Ball Z: KakarotCall of Duty: Modern WarfareMadden NFL 20Star Wars Jedi: Fallen OrderGrand Theft Auto VNBA 2K20Super Smash Bros. UltimateMario Kart 8Ring Fit AdventureRed Dead Redemption IIMinecraftPokemon SwordLuigi’s Mansion 3Star Wars: Battlefront II 2017The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildNeed for Speed HeatFIFA 20Just Dance 2020Mortal Kombat 11Pokemon ShieldWill Modern Warfare reclaim the top spot in February? There’s a good chance, as there aren’t a ton of major releases this month (Zombie Army 4 being the only real contender). What games did you pick up in January? Do any of the NPD numbers from the past month surprise you?