Last week, many gamers received their 2023 gaming stats from PlayStation, Nintendo, and possibly Xbox. Overall, I spent more time playing games in 2022 than 2023, but I still got a good amount of hours in this year (over 600 total). I did not receive a wrap-up from Steam or the Epic Games Store, but I would say I spent less than 10 hours total playing PC games in 2023, and most of that time was spent on Planet of Lana.

Both Nintendo and PlayStation decided to begin their wrap-up with “Your First Game of 2023.” I’m happy to report that both my first games were games that I completed and truly enjoyed — Kirby and the Forgotten Lands (Nintendo Switch) and God of War: Ragnarok (PlayStation 5). I did start both of those towards the end of 2022, but they did overlap into this year.

Let’s check out my PlayStation stats first:

I spent most of my 2023 gaming hours on PlayStation 5 games. In 2023, I played a total of 71 games — a slight decrease from the 96 games I played during the previous year. In 2023, I did replay a couple of previous titles to prepare for upcoming sequels. I stuck more to longer, narrative-driven games instead of jumping in-and-out of quick and online games as I have done in the past.

2022 was full of sports and racing games with WWE 2K22 as my most played game with 43 total hours played, followed by two racing sims Gran Turismo 7 and EA F1 22. I finished 2022 with my replay of God of War (2018), and after receiving FIFA 22 as a free PS Plus game I also played a good amount of that. It was my first FIFA in years, but also the final FIFA before moving into EA FC 23 this year (which I have yet to touch).

In 2023, there no sports or racing games cracked my top five most played games. I spent 44 hours on the new Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, after replaying Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (my fifth top played game). I racked up 24 hours total in both God of War: Ragnarok and the original Marvel’s Spider-Man (replay). The fourth game on my list was Final Fantasy VII: Remake, which I started playing when it first came out but didn’t get very far. In 2023, I decided to restart it, but I still played it sporadically throughout the year.

*Side Quest: I’m currently 22 hours into Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and I plan to continue playing it during
these final two weeks of 2023. By the end of the year Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 should creep up
into second place and push God of War: Ragnarok and the original Marvel’s Spider-Man
into third and fourth place.

Although my total playtime decreased a bit, I was still in the same high 300s range (367 hours in 2023 vs 391 in 2022). I don’t need to talk much about PlayStation trophies in either 2023 or 2022, since I achieved zero Platinum trophies. I do however plan to continue my trend of earning a Platinum trophy in Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, by 100% Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 early next year.

**Side Quest 2: My current small collection PlayStation Platinum trophies consists of the
two previous Spider-Man titles from Insomniac and Ghost of Tsushima.

There was one extra silly stat, and I’m not sure why this was included in my wrap-up. I’m mostly surprised about the way it was presented. First, I was given the title of “The Friend Maker” for my social style. Next, I was called out for my magnetic personality, since I made ONE new friend this year on PlayStation. I feel like a real magnetic social butterfly would have added at least ten new friends before being called a “Friend Maker.”

Now on to Nintendo Switch:

On the Nintendo Switch I saw a similar trend in my number of games played going from close to 100 (93 total) in 2022 to 65 in 2023. I do know that my total playtime was about 249 hours in 2023. Back in 2022, I did not receive my total hours. I will estimate that I possibly reached 300+ hours of playtime in 2022.

In both 2022 and 2023, my top played game was Splatoon 3. However, there was a big difference in my hours played (143 hours in 2022 vs 52 hours in 2023). My second top played game was replaying through The Messenger, in order to prepare for its spiritual successor, Sea of Stars. Third, I put a good amount of time into finishing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild right before the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I had never made it to the end of the Nintendo Switch launch title.

My top game genre over the past two years has been Action games (29% in 2022 vs 50% in 2023). Next came Adventure games (24%), followed by Shooting games (16%), Strategy games (7%), and finally Role Playing games (3%). So, in 2023 on the Nintendo Switch I was an action/adventure junkie at 74%.

BONUS MODE: Monthly Game Comparison

This year, both Nintendo and PlayStation broke down our top games and play times by month. What I find most interesting about this information is that I can now compare what I was playing each month on each console. Were the games similar or completely different?

January – Hades (Nintendo Switch) vs God of War: Ragnarok (PS5)

January was full of mythology — Greek and Norse. Hades and God of War: Ragnarok are both games deeply rooted in mythology and the gods. These are not the same gods though. Also, both games play completely different. It’s still fun to see the similarities in the subject matter of my January games.

February – Splatoon 3 (Nintendo Switch) vs Final Fantasy VII: Remake (PS5)

There was definitely a Splatfest taking place in February (Chocolate Splatfest). Those always bring me back to Splatoon 3, and keeps me playing weekend after weekend. This also happens to be the month when I first restarted Final Fantasy VII: Remake, which I intend to finish in 2024.

March – Splatoon 3 (Nintendo Switch) vs The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition (PS5)

My Splatoon 3 craze was only beginning in February, I continued to play throughout March. I dropped Final Fantasy VII: Remake when I received a review code for The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition. I had been looking forward to playing a big, open RPG, and this one satisfied my taste buds for that month.

April – Splatoon 3 (Nintendo Switch) vs Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS5)

In April, Splatoon 3 hit us with another Splatfest (Monsters Splatfest). April also happened to be the month where I decided to replay Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. After the sequel was delayed a couple of weeks, I decided I did have some time to replay the original.

May – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch) vs Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (PS5)

In May, I began my 2023 pattern of starting something new while re-playing something old. In this case it was not a full replay of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but instead I was just trying to finally defeat Ganon — and I did. I also spent this month playing through Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, after previously finishing Fallen Order.

June – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo Switch) vs F1 ‘23 (PS5)

I haven’t really scratched the surface of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom yet, but starting that game right after finally beating the first game was satisfying. I was truly able to feel the difference in gameplay. I will revisit Tears of the Kingdom in 2024. After playing my first F1 game in 2022, I got the chance to compare the new F1 23 and see how the game has changed.

July – Splatoon 3 (Nintendo Switch) vs Final Fantasy VII: Remake (PS5)

July was basically a flashback to February. Another Splatfest (Ice Cream Splatfest) was incoming, and I finally had some time to jump back into Final Fantasy VII: Remake.

August – The Messenger (Nintendo Switch) vs Moving Out (PS5)

Another replay vs something new, only this time the something new (Moving Out) was a multiplayer game my girlfriend and I breezed through in about two weekends. I decided to replay The Messenger for two reasons, (1) I don’t think I ever reached the true ending, and (2) I wanted to build the hype for the next game from Sabotage Studios, Sea of Stars.

September – The Messenger (Nintendo Switch) vs Sea of Stars (PS5)

September was an interesting month, because as I reached the end of The Messenger on Nintendo Switch, I was able to start the spiritual successor, Sea of Stars on PlayStation 5. While the two games fall under two totally different categories, I have noticed many influences and similarities between them. I also like seeing indie studios take a chance and go for something new after a successful game.

October – Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope (Nintendo Switch) vs Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS5)

October was another month where I focused on a replay and new game. With the new game, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, I had just finished beating the previous game, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, after putting it on hold for a couple of years. Since October I have mostly played Spider-Man games on my PlayStation 5 — one per month.

November – Super Mario Bros Wonder (Nintendo Switch) vs Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)

November featured the same characters/worlds from the previous month (Mario, the Rabbids, and the Spider-Men), but with slight changes. In the world of Mario I went from turn-based combat to a new 2D side-scrolling adventure in Super Mario Bros Wonder. In the Spiderverse, I switched from Peter’s story to Miles Morales.

December – No Stats (Nintendo Switch) vs Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PS5)

Although Nintendo decided not to include December in their report, I’m pretty sure I played a good amount of Tiny Thor early in the month — so back to Norse mythology. I have also finally made it to the brand new Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and I am so obsessed with this game. I don’t want it to end, but I know I must finish it because I have so many games I still need to play from 2023.

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My small problem with these wrap-ups is that they come a bit too early each year. Why not just wait a couple of weeks until the end of the month, or beginning of next year? I still have plenty of more hours to play games before the year is over. The “Holiday Break/Season” is all about spending time with your loved ones, but also taking some time to sneak away and play some video games. Will these last two weeks be included in my 2024 wrap-up?

What were your big gaming stats of 2023?
Also, if you own an Xbox did you receive this information?