Switch Overtakes Lifetime Sales of PS4 in US, Elden Ring Tops COD: Vanguard in Less Than 3 Months

April 2022 will be a historic month for Nintendo’s Switch console as it’s the month the hybrid console surpasses PlayStation 4 lifetime sales in the US

This news comes from Mat Piscatella of NPD Group, who reports monthly US sales of video game hardware, software, accessories, etc. This month’s news includes an overall decline in consumer video game spending, down 8%, to $4.3 billion from April of last year. Spending so far in 2022 is also 8% lower than a year ago, to $18.3 billion. Still, it’s been a great month for video game hardware – especially the Switch.

“Nintendo Switch lifetime sales have now surpassed PlayStation 4, making it the fourth-highest-selling console in U.S. history and the top seller of the electronic game hardware platform. 6th highest death overall. In consoles, it trails only PS2, Xbox 360, and Wii. ”

As you can see in Piscatella’s tweet above, the Switch broke a new record last month and considering it will still be Nintendo’s console for the foreseeable future (though we won’t mind the Switch 2 or Switch Pro right now), there’s a chance it could continue to climb the best-selling console list. The Switch also has the highest unit sales of any hardware platform for both April 2022 and all of 2022, year-to-date. The Xbox Series X/S console ranked second for the same time period.

Overall, sales of video game hardware grew 16% year-over-year to $343 million. Piscatella reckons that there is a larger supply of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles in the market than in April 2021. However, year-on-year spending on hardware fell by 9%, falling overall to 1. 5 billion USD.

As for Sony, the company’s PlayStation 5 leads in hardware sales in US dollars in April 2022 (mind you, not unit sales), followed by Xbox Series X/S and Switch , wrote Piscatella. Still, the Xbox Series X/S generated the highest hardware sales of all three platforms so far this year, followed by the PS5 and then the Switch. If you’re wondering how, especially with the Switch selling more units than the two, that’s because the Switch has a cheaper price tag.

About the software, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga led the pack in April 2022, launching as the second best-selling game in 2022 overall. It is also the number one game on the Nintendo, PlayStation and Steam platforms. On top of that, Skywalker Saga has the highest debut month of any Lego game in franchise history, and after just one month on the market, is the sixth best-selling Lego game to date. current point. Skywalker Saga is also the first third-party game to come in at number one on Switch since March 2021, which has seen Monster Hunter Rise take the top spot.

Perhaps to no one’s surprise, From Software’s Elden Ring was the second best-selling title of the month, two months after its release. It remains the best-selling game of the year so far and has now surpassed it Call of Duty: Vanguard Piscatella wrote on Twitter.

Here are the 10 best-selling video games of April 2022:

1. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
2. Elden Ring
3. MLB The Show 22
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
5. Nintendo Switch Sports
6. Call of Duty: Vanguard
7. Forbidden Horizon in the West
8. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
9. Gran Turismo 7
10. Pokemon Legend: Arceus

And here are the 10 best-selling games of 2022 up to now:

1. Elden Ring
2. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
3. Pokémon Legend: Arceus
4. Forbidden Horizon in the West
5. MLB The Show 22
6. Gran Turismo 7
7. Call of Duty: Vanguard
8. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
9. Madden NFL 22
10. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

For more information, be sure to check out Piscatella’s Complete NPD Serieswhich includes the top 10 breakdowns for each console platform, spending on video game accessories, etc. NPD number of March to read about how Xbox Series X/S became the best-selling console with US dollar sales back then.

Have you played Elden Ring yet? Let us know your favorite boss ever in the comments section below!