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NPD Reveals Best-Selling Games Of 2022, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Top Switch Charts (North America)

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Pokémon Scarlet Switch with Fuecoco
Image: Gemma Smith / Nintendo Life

The Nintendo Switch continues to do very well across the pond, and both December’s and 2022’s results from the NPD show that the Switch made some serious dents in the charts thanks to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

NPD analyst Mat Piscatella has shared the top 20 selling games in the US for 2022, and the newest generation of Pokémon charts in sixth place just two months after it launched. It’s just outside of the top five, where heavy hitters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Elden Ring take the top two positions, while multiplatform hit LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is in fifth. Madden NFL 23 and God of War Ragnarok complete the top five.

But of course, Scarlet & Violet aren’t the only Pokémon games to make the top 20. January’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the Switch’s second-best-selling exclusive, while third is *checks notes* Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (we kid, we know this will always sell well — especially with 2022’s Booster Course Pass). Kirby and the Forgotten Land has done well too, sitting in 14th ahead of Nintendo Switch Sports and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

In just December itself, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet were only bested by Call of Duty, while Mario Kart 8 and Sonic Frontiers are both inside the top 10. The Switch has eight exclusives within the top ten, and other games like Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion and Sonic Frontiers have also done well.

That makes Pokémon Scarlet & Violet the best-selling Switch game of the year, and of December. And last month, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023 Edition both performed well, placing third and fourth respectively.

Neither of these games placed in the overall top 10 for 2022, however. A series of familiar faces like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Party Superstars, and Smash Bros. are all present, with Splatoon 3 (which was the ninth best-seller of December) being the 10th best seller of the year for Nintendo’s console.

December 2022 was actually a decent month overall for video game sales — with a 2% increase compared to 2021 — while hardware sales increased by 16%. Spending, however, is 5% below 2021 levels.

For all of the stats regarding 2022 and December last year, check out Mat’s Twitter or head on over to the NPD website.

Are you surprised at Scarlet & Violet’s late-game dominance? Are you expecting it to appear in next year’s charts? Let us know in the comments!



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