The present day The NPD Group shared the data of the best-selling video games in North America in December, so we already know how video game sales were in all of 2021. Thanks to this type of information we can see that Nintendo no longer competes with PlayStation or XboxWell, among the 20 best-selling games of 2021 we can see 19 exclusive to Nintendo Switch (and Minecraft).
The list of top selling video games in December 2021 it is a little more varied, since in the top 10 there are 8 exclusive Nintendo Switch titles, led by the remakes of Pokémon Pearl / Diamond, Mario Kart 8, Mario Party Superstars, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The cross-platform games on the list are Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2022 in sixth place and Mojang’s Minecraft in tenth, although the latter is published by Nintendo in its version of switch.
Related: Nintendo dominates the weekly sales charts with 4 games in the UK top 5.
In the list of the 20 best-selling video games of 2021 we can see 19 Nintendo Switch exclusives, although the only cross-platform game is Minecraft (published by Nintendo). The only game in the top 20 not published by Nintendo is Monster Hunter Rise, which was exclusive to Nintendo Switch for all of 2021. While Monster Hunter Rise is currently available to purchase on Steam, the game remains a Nintendo console exclusive.
It should be noted that the sales of Nintendo-published video games do not include those of the digital versions, unlike the lists of the best-selling Xbox video games and the best-selling PlayStation video games.
- Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Super Mario 3D World
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
- Monster Hunter: Rise
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Mario Party Superstars
- Pokémon: Sword/Shield
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
- Metroid Dread
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
- Pokemon Snap
- Minecraft
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars
- Super Mario Party
- super mario odyssey
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Mario Golf: Super Rush
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
Read more: Rumor ensures that Mario Kart 9 for Nintendo Switch would be announced this year.
It’s no surprise to see that Pokémon tops the list of best-selling video games of the year, but it’s nice to see Metroid Dread in the eleventh position, especially considering that it was released in October and it is a niche franchise. The rest of the best-selling video games are what we imagined, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario 3D World, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate completing the Top 5.