All purpose Sales and Sales Rumours and Anecdotes [2023 Edition]

[Dr. Nick]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1690117609616764928

 

[Shortbread]

2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 were two of the best-selling video games in the UK last month.

Both games had their matchmaking fixed on Xbox platforms, and were also discounted in the Xbox Ultimate Game Sale, which sent Modern Warfare 2 to No.5, while Black Ops 2 returns at No.4.

Both Xbox and PlayStation ran aggressive digital game sales, which have transformed the chart. Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 jumped up to No.2 and No.3 respectively. Both of Rockstar's games were discounted on all Xbox and PlayStation platforms, with the PS4 versions on sale for under £15.

But it was FIFA 23 that was No.1 for the month.

In total, 2.36 million digital and physical AAA video games were sold in the UK during July, up 31% over the year before.

1.66 million games were sold via digital download stores (up 40% year-on-year), while 701,000 were sold via physical outlets (up 12%).

The highest charting game that was actually released in 2023 was Hogwarts Legacy in sixth position.

In terms of new game released in July, the highest charting title is Pikmin 4 at No.23. Nintendo doesn't share digital sales with the charts, so it may be that the game would have charted higher if we knew the download figures. If we just look at physical sales for the month, Pikmin 4 was the fifth best-selling game.

PlayStation 5 remains the market leading format, with sales once again driven by pricing activity on the standard version of the console. PS5 sold very slightly more units in July than it did in June. By the end of July, PS5 sales are up 68% compared with the same period last year. That's already jumped further in August.

The same isn't true for Nintendo Switch, which saw sales slide 15% in July compared with the month before. Year-to-date, Switch sales are down 8.5% for the first seven months of the year.
In third position is Xbox Series S and X. Microsoft's console saw sales tumble 12% in July compared with June. So far this year, Xbox console sales are down 22.8%.

As an aside, sales of PS4 are up 331% so far this year.

Finally, nearly 550,000 accessores were sold in the UK during July, a drop of 3% over June and 3% over July last year.

The charts are dominated by Sony DualSense controllers. The White edition retakes No.1 from the Black version, while Starlight Blue rises 14 places to No.18 and Grey Camo jumps five places to No.5. The Cosmic Red edition also jumped 11 positions to No.20. The controllers have benefitted from strong sales of PS5, plus some pricing activity at major retailers. The rest of the Top Ten is made up of Xbox controllers and Turtle Beach headsets, with Ear Force 50X at No.7 and Ear Force 50P at No.10.

UK GSD July 2023 Top 10 (Digital + Physical)​

Position	Title
1	FIFA 23 (EA)
2	Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
3	Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
4	Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Activision Blizzard)
5	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 2009 Edition (Activision Blizzard)
6	Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)
7	F123 (EA)
8	Minecraft (Mojang)
9	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 2022 Edition (Activision Blizzard)
10	Diablo 4 (Activision Blizzard)

Xbox backwards compatibility sends old Call of Duty games back into the Top Five | UK Monthly Charts

2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 were two of the best-selling video games in …

www.gamesindustry.biz

 

[wco81]

Is GTA V a new game?

Or just updated graphics for PS4 and XSX?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

UK GSD July 2023 Top 10 (Digital + Physical)​

Position	Title
1	FIFA 23 (EA)
2	Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
3	Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
4	Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Activision Blizzard)
5	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 2009 Edition (Activision Blizzard)
6	Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)
7	F123 (EA)
8	Minecraft (Mojang)
9	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 2022 Edition (Activision Blizzard)
10	Diablo 4 (Activision Blizzard)

Xbox backwards compatibility sends old Call of Duty games back into the Top Five | UK Monthly Charts

2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 were two of the best-selling video games in …

www.gamesindustry.biz

I wonder if sales on GTA V will manage to push it back into the Top 20 in the US after being out of it for the past year+?

Also... sales for the NSW saw sales "slide" 15% while XBS consoles saw sales "tumble" 12%. The choice of wording is amusing considering their respective declines.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shortbread]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1693544052975714736

11.6 million console and PC games were sold in July across Europe, up 34% over the same period in 2022.

Digital downloads represented nearly 7.9 million of that (up 60%), while physical was 3.75 million (up 0.2%).

This is according to GSD data, which includes digital sales from most AAA games publishers in every European country. It also includes physical sales of games in the big European markets. For the full breakdown of countries and publishers, see bottom of the article.

Major summer promotions on PlayStation and Xbox have transformed the charts, with Grand Theft Auto 5 back at No.1 and Red Dead Redemption 2 at No.3. Both Rockstar games were discounted on console last month, particularly on PlayStation formats.

The highest charting new game was Nintendo Switch exclusive Pikmin 4 at No.11 (please note, Nintendo first-party games do not include digital download figures). It may not look like a particularly strong debut, but for the first two weeks on the market, Pikmin 4 sales are up 81% compared with what Pikmin 3: Deluxe managed in October 2020.

In terms of hardware, 493,000 games consoles were sold across tracked European countries, which is 62.5% up over July 2022 but 2% down compared with June this year. Tracked markets are missing two key territories in Germany and the UK. UK hardware figures for July can be found here.

PS5 comfortably led the month in Europe, with console sales up 244% over July last year. There were strong price promotions on PS5 in July, and as a result sales were also up 24% over June. Overall, year-to-date PS5 sales are up 203% across the tracked territories.

Nintendo Switch finished the month in second place, with sales down 9% compared with July 2022. Year-to-date, Nintendo Switch sales are flat compared with 2022.

European GSD July 2023 Top 10 (Digital + Physical)​

Position	Title
1	Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
2	FIFA 23 (EA)
3	Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
4	Diablo 4 (Activision Blizzard)
5	Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)
6	The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)*
7	The Crew 2 (Ubisoft)
8	F1 23 (EA)
9	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Blizzard)
10	NBA 2K23
11	Pikmin 4 (Nintendo)*
12	Elden Ring (Bandai Namco)
13	Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Nintendo)*
14	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft)
15	A Way Out (EA)
16	Grand Theft Auto Online (Rockstar)
17	Civilization 6 (2K Games)
18	Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Activision Blizzard)
19	It Takes Two (EA)
20	Final Fantasy 16 (Square Enix)

GTA V and RDR2... GODs

Seriously, still the best open world games when it comes to character interactions and other real world like simulations.

 

[Shortbread]

Circana (NPD) July 2023: #1 Remnant 2, #6 Pikmin 4 #16 Exoprimal; PS5 #1 Units + Revenue, Switch #2 Units + Revenue (Thread being updated real time)


State of the market
Remnant 2 was July’s best-selling video game as total spending reached $4.2 billion.

Hardware
PlayStation 5 was the best-selling hardware platform in both unit and dollar sales during July 2023, with Switch ranking 2nd across both measures.PlayStation 5 continued to lead the 2023 hardware market across both units and dollars.

Software
Many classic Call of Duty titles experienced a resurgence in July, as multiplayer service functionality was restored on Xbox platforms aligned with price promotion. Call of Duty: Black Ops II returned to the top 20 best-sellers list for the first time since April 2017.

Mobile
Sensor Tower reports the top 10 games by U.S. consumer spending in July as: Royal Match, MONOPOLY GO!, Roblox, Candy Crush Saga, Coin Master, Pokémon GO, Gardenscapes, Jackpot Party - Casino Slots, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Ebony.

Accessories
-

Software charts

Year To Date

-

Nintendo / PlayStation / Xbox charts are no longer being reported.

Rankings
Units: PS5 > NSW > XBS
Revenue: PS5 > NSW > XBS

YTD Units: PS5 > NSW > XBS
YTD Revenue: PS5 > NSW > XBS

Thanks Mat Piscatella!

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Interesting seeing the differences. GTA V tops in Europe, nowhere to be seen in the US. Remnant 2 tops in the US, nowhere to be seen in Europe. The Spiderman games chart in the US but nowhere to be seen in Europe. RDR 2 in Europe, but not the US. Minecraft in the US but not in Europe.

Thank goodness Elden Ring is in both the US and European top 20 though.

Regards,
SB

 

[pharma]

August 23, 2023
Epic store changes revenue sharing split program for third party developers - first 6 months 100% revenue capture, 88% after that.

Today, we’re introducing the Epic First Run program: an opt-in exclusivity program for third-party developers on the Epic Games Store. The new Epic First Run program gives participants the opportunity to boost their net revenue from user spending on eligible products from 88% to 100% in their first six months on the Epic Games Store. After their six-month run, participants will continue to benefit from Epic’s 88%/12% revenue split.

The Epic Games Store is home to a huge, rapidly growing global audience with over 230 million players and 68 million monthly active users. Participating products in the Epic First Run program will be presented to those users on-store with new exclusive badging, homepage placements, and dedicated collections. In addition, products will be featured in relevant store campaigns including sales, events, and editorial as applicable. Once a product joins the program, it will benefit from continued exposure throughout its Epic First Run.

The new program gives developers of any scale the opportunity to activate our global audience right at launch. While this is a major part of the release journey, that’s not all of it. For this program to reach peak efficiency, developers must promote their products early and often with their target audience.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/introducing-the-epic-first-run-program

 

[SmooTh]

The US video game industry gets back to growth

The decade has been a turbulent one for the US video game industry. It began with the surge in players, engagement and …

www.gamesindustry.biz

Hardware Supply Flowing

After a period of post-launch constraints that both limited sales potential while also causing planners across the industry to pull out significant amounts of hair, supply of new hardware has become more readily available. PlayStation 5 has been particularly strong over the past year, with its supply noticeably improving beginning in July 2022. We expect PlayStation 5 to remain the hardware market sales leader into at least 2025.

Despite the supply constraints early in the generation each console is comparing well to prior hardware releases. On a comparative basis, PlayStation 5 is now trending 5% above PlayStation 4 and 87% ahead of PlayStation 3 in time aligned units sold life-to-date, while Xbox Series trails Xbox One by 10% yet leads Xbox 360 by 6%.
Click to shrink...

Switch has also continued to perform strongly in 2023, helped by the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. In fact, the US lifetime sales of Switch hardware finally surpassed those of Wii in the US market during July 2023. Switch lifetime sales now trail Xbox 360 by less than one million units, and PlayStation 2 by fewer than five million.

We are, however, seeing a shift in the customer base for new video game hardware. Circana's Checkout service has uncovered that high income households (those earning over $100k/year) are contributing most to current video game hardware sales, a significant shift from where the market was at the beginning of 2020. Higher prices in everyday spending categories such as food and gas, as well as a shift from Switch towards more expensive PlayStation 5 consoles are likely contributing factors, among others.

On a trended basis, the $57 billion in spending over the past 12 months is 1% higher than a year ago, and 13% above the pre- and early pandemic 12-month period ending in July 2020.

 

[pharma]

September 18, 2023

Immortals of Aveum studio lays-off half its staff due to poor sales - KitGuru

Immortals of Aveum is a magic-based first person shooter set “in an original fantasy universe engulf

www.kitguru.net

Immortals of Aveum is a magic-based first person shooter set “in an original fantasy universe engulfed in magic, rife with conflict, and on the verge of oblivion”. Developed by Ascendant Studios, the game represents the team’s debut title. Unfortunately, the title seems to have fallen below expectations, with nearly half of the studio’s developers being laid off as a consequence.

As first reported by Polygon, a number of developers at Ascendant Studios spoke to the publication revealing that nearly half of the studio’s staff have been laid off (40 devs in total). Following this, Ascendant’s CEO Bret Robbins took to Twitter to confirm the news, releasing a statement saying:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1702397324755083719

 

[DieH@rd]

In the today's FTC leak of confidential MS data, we got the internal sales projection for Series X/S consoles.

MS expects 56-59M total shipments by the end of generation, in essence a repeat of Xbox One's sales performance.

So many crazy things got leaked.

 

[Shortbread]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1705969514830086509

It is Mortal Kombat 1 that has come out on top this time to land the number one spot in its debut week — no thanks to the dreadful Switch port, of course, which only accounted for 7% of the game's overall sales (79% came on PS5 and 14% on Xbox Series S|X). Lies of P has also sold well in its opening week, as the latest Soulslike takes third place behind Hogwarts Legacy.

-	1	Mortal Kombat 1
1	2	Hogwarts Legacy
-	3	Lies of P
-	4	Pikmin 1+2
3	5	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
21	6	Cyberpunk 2077
-	7	Payday 3
5	8	Grand Theft Auto V
4	9	The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
7	10	Minecraft
2	11	The Crew: Motorfest
11	12	The Witcher III: Wild Hunt GOTY Edition
6	13	LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
24	14	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
10	15	Red Dead Redemption 2
20	16	Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
12	17	Street Fighter 6
-	18	Final Fantasy VII & Final Fantasy VII Remastered - Twin Pack
8	19	Starfield
14	20	Animal Crossing: New Horizons

 

[Tkumpathenurpahl]

August 23, 2023
Epic store changes revenue sharing split program for third party developers - first 6 months 100% revenue capture, 88% after that.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/introducing-the-epic-first-run-program

That's a pretty smart way of avoiding the "release now and patch to usability over 12 months" mindset becoming a trend. There's incentive to avoid people saying to themselves "I'll wait until it's finished before I buy."

I only game on PS5, so it's not likely to impact me any time soon, but it's desirable that this nudges the industry in the right direction.

 

[chris1515]

Spain hardware number

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series HW sales - Spain

2020 (Nov-Dec)
PlayStation 5: 78.400
Xbox Series X|S: 31.000

2021 (full year) / LTD
PlayStation 5: 293.600 / 372.000
Xbox Series X|S: 81.500 / 112.500

2022 (full year) / LTD
PlayStation 5: 182.000 / 554.000
Xbox Series X|S: 96.500 / 209.000

2023 (weeks 1-39) / LTD
PlayStation 5: 286.640 / 840.640
Xbox Series X|S: 35.100 / 244.100

Nintendo Switch (weeks 1-39 2023): 205.800

Spain Sales - Vandal.net : Archive

I have added to the OT the estimated LTD sales of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series until week 40, 2021. PlayStation 5: 273.650 Xbox Series: 63.400 (It was possible to calculate these numbers thanks to Vandal weekly articles written by Rubén Mercado. The only weeks when Rubén has not provided...

www.resetera.com

 

[Theeoo]

GTA 6 leak suggests trailer is coming in just a few days

Almost exactly one year after the GTA 6 gameplay video leaked, trailer details followed suit, just days before the official one aired.

www.altchar.com

Take this with a thimble of salt.

 

[pharma]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1716452702350143833

[Updated] Spider-Man 2 Sales Surpass 2.5 Million Copies; It's the Fastest-Selling PlayStation Studios Game Ever

Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 sales have already surpassed 2.5 million units globally, PlayStation has announced.

wccftech.com

 

[SmooTh]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1716910352859091063

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1716911802767028627

 

[Silent_Buddha]

That made me curious about Circana's (formerly NPD) NA sales report.

https://venturebeat.com/games/starfield-rockets-past-mortal-kombat-1-to-top-spot-circana-september-2023/

Hardware sales down across the board with PS5 and NSW sales declining for Sept. while Xbox saw sales increase.

Video game sales are up driven by digital downloads.

Starfield was the best-selling game of September 2023 in the US - Game Pass or no Game Pass

The September 2023 industry report is in from Circana (formerly NPD), and according to the data, the best-selling game …

www.vg247.com

PS5 still came in #1 in both unit sales and revenue. Xbox was #2 in both unit sales and revenue. NSW was third.

Starfield came in at #1 and PC was the largest platform for Starfield sales. Starfield also drove the largest increase in Game Pass subscription rates according to Nadella (reported elsewhere).

Starfield Topped the Charts in September, but Couldn’t Quite Boost the Xbox to #1

Starfield was a big hit in September according to the NPD/Circana charts, but Xbox still lagged behind the PS5.

wccftech.com

1. Starfield
2. Mortal Kombat 1
3. EA Sports FC 24
4. Madden NFL 24
5. Payday 3
6. NBA 2K24
7. The Crew Motorfest
8. Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon
9. Hogwarts Legacy
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
11. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
12. Resident Evil 4
13. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
14. Minecraft
15. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
16. Rainbow Six Siege
17. Gran Turismo 7
18. Elden Ring
19. Sea of Thieves
20. Diablo IV

Minecraft still charting and NA is still not really interested in GTA V.

Elden Ring managing to still chart for the 19th consecutive month. That gives From Software 2 titles in the top 20! Huzzah!

Sea of Thieves?

Regards,
SB

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Well I guess this shut everyone up.

Seriously though, I'll be the first to say here that I think MS turned the corner with Starfield's release. Forza Motorsport also reviewed well and with Call of Duty, Diablo IV, Hellblade 2 and Awowed all likely coming by next summer I think they are finally hitting their release cadence. Halo Infinite Season 5 is doing quite well also.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Well I guess this shut everyone up.

Shut who up about what? I can't follow your implied argument.