The NPD video games sales results for the month of August 2021 came in recently which covers sales for the entirety of the United States. The Nintendo Switch family of systems was once again the best-selling video game system, while the newer PlayStation 5 was top for dollar sales, though it is still facing stock shortages. On the software side of things the best-selling video game for the month of August was Madden NFL 22 followed by Ghost of Tsushima, which recently received a directors cut for the PlayStation 5.
“Nintendo Switch was the top-selling console in terms of systems sold during the month of August. The more expensive PlayStation 5, however, came out No. 1 for dollar sales.”
VentureBeat.com
August 2021 NPD: The top 20 best-selling games of the month in the United States
NPD tracks physical sales at retailers, but it also gets digital data directly from publishers. Not every company participates. For example, Nintendo doesn’t share its first-party sales, and Activision Blizzard does not provide its Battle.net sales.
| Rank | Last Month Rank | August 2021 Top 20 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | NEW | Madden NFL 22 | Electronic Arts |
| 2 | 110 | Ghost of Tsushima | Sony (Corp) |
| 3 | 2 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 4 | NEW | Humankind | Sega |
| 5 | 8 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 6 | 4 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 7 | 1 | The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword* | Nintendo |
| 8 | 5 | Minecraft | Multiple Video Game Manufacturers |
| 9 | 20 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Ubisoft |
| 10 | 7 | MLB: The Show 21^ | Sony (Corp) |
| 11 | 10 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 12 | 9 | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 13 | 11 | Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart | Sony (Corp) |
| 14 | 12 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 15 | 18 | Pokemon: Sword/Shield* | Nintendo |
| 16 | 15 | Mortal Kombat 11 | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 17 | 14 | Super Mario 3D World* | Nintendo |
| 18 | 17 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
| 19 | 6 | Mario Golf: Super Rush* | Nintendo |
| 20 | 23 | Super Mario Party* | Nintendo |
| * Digital sales not included | |||
| ^ Xbox Digital sales not included |
Top 10 best-selling games of the last 12 months
| Rank | Last Month Rank | 12 Months Ending August 2021 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, STEAM and Xbox platforms for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War | Activision Blizzard (Corp) |
| 2 | 3 | Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla | Ubisoft |
| 3 | 2 | Madden NFL 21 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | 4 | Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales | Sony (Corp) |
| 5 | 5 | Super Mario 3D All-Stars* | Nintendo |
| 6 | 7 | NBA 2K21* | Take 2 Interactive (Corp) |
| 7 | 8 | Marvel’s Avengers | Square Enix Inc (Corp) |
| 8 | 6 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 9 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 10 | 10 | FIFA 21 | Electronic Arts |
| * Digital sales not included |
August 2021 NPD: Top 10 best-selling Nintendo games in the U.S.
| Rank | Last Month Rank | August 2021 Top 10 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital for publishers in the Digital Leader Panel) ranked on dollar sales | Publisher |
| 1 | 3 | Mario Kart 8* | Nintendo |
| 2 | 1 | The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword* | Nintendo |
| 3 | 5 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate* | Nintendo |
| 4 | 6 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons* | Nintendo |
| 5 | 9 | Pokémon: Sword/Shield* | Nintendo |
| 6 | 7 | Super Mario 3D World* | Nintendo |
| 7 | 8 | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* | Nintendo |
| 8 | 4 | Mario Golf: Super Rush* | Nintendo |
| 9 | 10 | Super Mario Party* | Nintendo |
| 10 | 11 | Minecraft* | Nintendo |
| * Digital sales not included |
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