December 2021 NPD: Halo Infinite has strong debut on the sales charts

Console hardware was once again difficult to come by in December, and that held back sales for an industry that continues to carry most of its momentum from the pandemic. Sales were flat or down across all categories in the United States, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. But a decline isn’t surprising when so many people are still unable to find Switch systems in stores let alone Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

“December 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories fell 1% when compared to a year ago, to $7.5 billion,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “December growth in subscription and recurrent spending across PC, console, and mobile platforms offset declines in premium game sales to keep content spending flat compared to a year ago, at $5.7 billion.”