NPD November 2021: Supply Constraints Drive Industry Down By 10%

November is always a particularly interesting month when it comes to NPD reporting. This is because traditionally developers drop the biggest AAA games around either this month or October. Additionally, with Christmas just around the corner, many people are on the hunt for new hardware for their significant other, friends, or family. The current chip shortage issue that has been plaguing many tech manufacturers is going to be a major factor this year. It already has had a major impact on the industry in terms of its overall health.

Hardware Supply Constraints Will Continue

As reported by NPD analyst Mat Piscatella the gaming industry as a whole was down by a massive 10% in comparison to last year at this time. This was driven primarily by the 38% decrease in hardware sales in comparison to November 2020. While this is a big percentage it is important to keep perspective of the current climate that we are in. Last November was the launch month of both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. While the chip shortage was still a major player at this point in time, both company’s had the opportunity to stockpile units in order to fulfill as many pre-orders as they could for launch. Now both Xbox and PlayStation are simply pushing as many units out as they can through their supply chain at all times, which results in a lot lower stock for consumers to purchase this November. This is the lowest that hardware numbers have been since November 2016.

Best Selling Hardware For November 2021 via NPD

Nintendo Switch
Xbox Series Consoles
PlayStation 5

The Nintendo Switch dominated hardware sales this month with an estimated 1.13 million units moved. This is a combination of both the original Nintendo Switch model as well as the OLED model that was released a few months ago. Xbox manages to slide into the number 2 spot thanks largely to being able to keep Xbox Series S consoles on the shelves for most of Black Friday with stock running out by the end of the weekend. PlayStation occupies the number 3 spot as the demand for the next-generation PlayStation console continues to grow, unfortunately, the stock just isn’t there to satisfy the hungry consumer base.

AAA Leads The Way

This month was a big month for software as a variety of high-value IP’s dropped new games this past month. Call of Duty leads the way, despite the massive controversy surrounding Activision it appears to have done little to hamper the juggernaut. As Call of Duty: Vanguard was the number one selling game for November and shot up to the 2nd best selling game of 2021. This marks the 14th consecutive year that Call of Duty has taken the number one spot in the month of its release.

Forza Horizon 5 managed to find major success as the title had its best launch month sales in the franchise’s history. This alongside a massive and growing player base, Xbox is undoubtedly happy with the success of the title. EA managed to score a win as well as Battlefield 2042 managed to take the number 2 spot this month. While Battlefield 2042 has a long road ahead of itself in terms of updates, and patches, the investment from players is there. Nintendo had an incredible month in software as well, with the release of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl which took the number 3 spot this month, without including digital copies of the titles. On an interesting note as well Shin Megami Tensei V set a franchise record as the best-selling game in the franchise’s history, debuting at number 16 this month. This is part of an ongoing trend of JRPG titles finding more and more success in the Western market. A trend I hope to see continue heading into 2022.