Hogwarts Legacy Bumps Off CoD, Dead Space Holds Surprisingly Strong in February NPD Charts

The former NPD Group (they’ve now inexplicably changed their name to the much less memorable “Circana”) has released its full North American sales data for February, which was a solid month for the industry. Players spent $4.6 billion on games, additional content, and hardware in February, a 6 percent year-on-year increase. This was largely driven by hardware sales, which were up a whopping 68 percent year-on-year. In terms of unit sales, the PS5 was the #1 console, followed by the Switch and Xbox Series X/S. When looking at dollar sales, it was PS5 #1, XSX #2, and Switch #3.

Turning to software, Hogwarts Legacy took the #1 spot, unseating Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Hogwarts is currently the #1 selling game of 2023, a record it has a solid chance of retaining at the end of the year. Other new additions to the charts include Wild Hearts at #8, Like a Dragon: Ishin at #9, Octopath Traveler II at #10, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe at #15, Company of Heroes 3 at #16, and Theatrythm Final Bar Line at #20. Meanwhile, despite some reports to the contrary, Dead Space held strong sales-wise, remaining at the #3 position in February, and The Last of Us Part I popped up to the #6 position based on the popularity of the HBO series.

Here are February’s top 20 games according to NPD/Circana:

1 - Hogwarts Legacy

2 -  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

3 - Dead Space

4 - Madden NFL 23

5 - FIFA 23

6 - The Last of Us Part I

7 - Elden Ring

8 - Wild Hearts

9 - Like a Dragon: Ishin!

10 - Octopath Traveler II

11 - God of War Ragnarok

12 - Minecraft

13 - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

14 - Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

15 - Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

16 - Company of Heroes 3

17 - Sonic Frontiers

18 - The Last of Us Part II

19 - NBA 2K23

20 - Theatrhythm Final Bar Line

And here are the top games of 2023 to date:

1 - Hogwarts Legacy

2 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

3 -Dead Space

4 - Madden NFL 23

5 - FIFA 23

6 - Elden Ring

7 - Fire Emblem Engage

8 - God of War Ragnarok

9 - The Last of Us Part I

10 – Forspoken

What are your thoughts on the February charts? Any big surprises or things you’re happy to see?

The post Hogwarts Legacy Bumps Off CoD, Dead Space Holds Surprisingly Strong in February NPD Charts by Nathan Birch appeared first on Wccftech.