How did Pokemon fare against a future Switch game (?) and Dad of Boy?
The bulk of the US Thanksgiving weekend left a major shakeup on the software charts in the latest sales survey from the NPD Group.
All rankings, unless noted, are based on revenue from October 30 - November 26. Third parties can contribute eShop data.
The monthly hardware result was up 45% year over year, mostly due to readily available PlayStation 5 supply which saw it as the top platform in both dollars and units; the Switch was second on both counts.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were the big Switch winners in the period, placing 3rd in the survey behind a full month of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and the debuting God of War: Ragnarok. Scarlet and Violet debuted 7th in the top 20 sellers of the year and 8th in the top 10 measured back to December 2021, coincidentally trailing Pokemon Legends: Arceus in both counts (6th and 7th). Two other titles debuted in the top 20: the embattled Sonic Frontiers managed to land in 4th (2nd on Switch) while Tactics Ogre: Reborn staked out 17th (not in the Switch top 10).
Older Nintendo first party releases in the top 20 are Mario Party Superstars (10th), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (12th), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (13th), and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (20th); all four games were either in Nintendo's Black Friday software sales or in the case of MK8 had the Black Friday bundle. Third parties included FIFA 23 (6th with the World Cup), NBA 2k23 (7th), Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope (14th), Persona 5 Royal (15th), and Minecraft (18th).
The full Switch top 10:
- Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
- Sonic Frontiers (Sega)
- Mario Party Superstars
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
- Splatoon 3
- Nintendo Switch Sports
