The latest figures from The NPD Group reveal that Dead Space is the best-selling new video game in the U.S. in January. The well-received remake of the 2008 survival horror was kept away from the top spot by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which enjoys its fourth consecutive month as the best-selling game in the U.S.
Dead Space was joined in the top 20 best-sellers by three other new games: Fire Emblem Engage (No.5), Forspoken (No.7), and One Piece Odyssey (No.9).
While there were four new releases among the top 10, U.S. consumer spending on video game software, hardware, and accessories dropped year-on-year by 5%, according to NPD’s Mat Piscatella. “Video game hardware spending was flat, while content (-5%) and accessories (-14%) spending fell,” he revealed on Twitter. This means sales are down year-on-year for the first time since last September.
January 2022 US NPD THREAD – U.S. consumer spending on video game content, hardware and accessories totaled $4.3 billion, a decline of 5% when compared to a year ago. Video game hardware spending was flat, while content (-5%) and accessories (-14%) spending fell. pic.twitter.com/TvmxTayZr6
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) February 13, 2023
Not everything was down, however. The Last of Us: Part 1, the PS5 remake of Naughty Dog’s celebrated survival horror, saw a leap in chart position. Fuelled in part by the popularity of the new HBO show, it rose from No.36 to No.11 in the sales chart.
As for Dead Space, a debut at No.2 means that it has had a much better start in life than last year’s The Callisto Protocol. Widely considered a spiritual successor to Dead Space thanks to being helmed by the original game’s co-creator Glenn Schofield, some may have expected The Callisto Protocol to have made something of a splash. But despite that pedigree, it debuted at an underwhelming No.17 in the NPD sales charts for December 2022.
Just one month on, The Callisto Protocol has completely disappeared from the top 20 sales chart. Time will tell if Dead Space has the sticking power to hang on into next month’s charts, but with a significantly better critical response and little AAA competition in February, it has more favorable odds.
The full rankings for January 2023’s top 20 best-selling premium games in the U.S. are:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Dead Space (2023)Madden NFL 23FIFA 23Fire Emblem EngageElden RingForspokenGod of War: RagnarokOne Piece OdysseyPokemon: Scarlet/VioletThe Last of Us: Part 1Sonic FrontiersMonster Hunter: RiseMario Kart 8MinecraftNeed for Speed: UnboundJust Dance 2023 EditionNBA 2K23Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles MoralesNHL 23
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
About Post Author
