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Sales Data UK Sales Feb23: PS5 sales surge over 300%, Switch down 15% since January down 29% from Feb22, overall console market is up 65%

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PS5 sales surge over 300% in the UK during February | UK Monthly Charts

Xbox Series S and X sales also increased month-on-month
www.gamesindustry.biz www.gamesindustry.biz


The UK games market posted strong sales in February due to the performance of two products: Hogwarts Legacy and PlayStation 5.


2.8 million console and PC games were sold across the UK during February, up 11% over the year before. This data is for all physical games, plus AAA titles from most major publishers (courtesy of GSD).


Hogwarts Legacy was by far and away the biggest game of the month. Its launch week was 100% bigger than last February's hit video game, Elden Ring. In fact, the game is already on the brink of over-taking Elden Ring in all-time sales after just three weeks. It is currently the sixth best-selling video game from the last 12 months.


Hogwarts Legacy makes up for a month that was a little lighter on new games compared with last year. February 2022 also saw the release of Horizon: Forbidden West, Dying Light 2 and Total War: Warhammer 3. This month, the highest charting new releases outside of Hogwarts is Undisputed, the boxing game from Plaion, which debuts at No.13. Elsewhere, Atomic Heart charted at No.17, although the game was a Day One title in Game Pass, which may explain why 85% of its sales were on PS5 and PC.
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Other new releases that didn't make the Top 20 include Octopath Traveler 2 (No.58), Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (No.78) and Wild Hearts (No.139).


The other slightly notable thing in the February charts is the return of The Last of Us titles. The Last of Us: Part 2 is at No.7, with sales more than double the month before. Meanwhile The Last of Us Remastered is at No.14, with sales up over 50%. There is also an increase for The Last of Us Part 1 on PS5 (No.19). These jumps are from a relatively low base, so the overall sales figures are not particularly huge, but it shows that the games have benefitted from the HBO series based on the IP, which started in January.


There are no Nintendo games in the Top Ten this month, although it's worth noting that Nintendo does not share digital data with the charts company. One of its big releases, Metroid Prime Remastered (which was surprise launched earlier in the month as a digital download) is therefore missing from the charts. Most indie games are also not included, and that's why recent hit survival game Sons of the Forest is also missing.
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PS5 seems to be really hitting its stride, but Switch continues to sink. Will we finally see a successor, or just a moderate mid gen bump?
 
PS5 is widely available for the first time, and retailers have been offering a lot of bundles. If PS5 can stay in stock I guess it'll continue to sell and sell. Especially if the usual lower-priced slim model turns up in the next year or two.

People why may have opted for Switch previously because PS5 wasn't available now don't have to make that compromise.
 
neil said:
PS5 is widely available for the first time, and retailers have been offering a lot of bundles. If PS5 can stay in stock I guess it'll continue to sell and sell. Especially if the usual lower-priced slim model turns up in the next year or two.

People why may have opted for Switch previously because PS5 wasn't available now don't have to make that compromise.
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It's this but also games are finally coming out that are nextgen only that interest people. Just in my friend group I know more than 5 people who bought PS5s to play HL alone, that is their only game they have now. Hopefully they will buy more after but still, it's a huge boon to the platform. Then you mix in the number 1 show of Fall/Winter, The Last of Us, the PS5 is going to be doing well for a while. But yeah stock issues being addressed and all this is a perfect storm for them
 
VHS said:
It's this but also games are finally coming out that are nextgen only that interest people. Just in my friend group I know more than 5 people who bought PS5s to play HL alone, that is their only game they have now. Hopefully they will buy more after but still, it's a huge boon to the platform. Then you mix in the number 1 show of Fall/Winter, The Last of Us, the PS5 is going to be doing well for a while. But yeah stock issues being addressed and all this is a perfect storm for them
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I didn't know that was PS5 only. Glad to hear some games are finally coming for it.
 
Now is probably the best time to get into the PS5 system. There is a decent backlog of next gen titles. And you can actually find the thing now for an uninflated price. (I mean, if you live in the US I guess.)

Switch is kind of at the end of its time as a super mainstream console. I don't think the thing is dead, but I can see the writing on the wall. Really it's just Nintendo putting out good (but not mainstream major) titles regularly until [REDACTED] arrives.

Most people who wanted a Switch probably have one already.
 
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neil said:
PS5 is widely available for the first time, and retailers have been offering a lot of bundles. If PS5 can stay in stock I guess it'll continue to sell and sell. Especially if the usual lower-priced slim model turns up in the next year or two.

People why may have opted for Switch previously because PS5 wasn't available now don't have to make that compromise.
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I mean Switch is still selling really well, probably better than any other console console at this point in its life. The bump for PS5 is expected, with hardware available and Hogwarts boost. The following month will be more interesting saleswise.
 
There's no reason not for it to continue, unless PS5 REALLY fumbles something. Look at Series X. It's put in some hella work into its own system (arguably more than Sony's) and still lags regularly behind PS5. And hey, AAA development is still going on for PS5. Just seems like a solidly greased machine even if it's a little slow.

Switch is just kinda going into stock clearing phase, if the latest Mario bundle is anything. Granted, I expect that bundle to do gangbusters when the movie comes out.
 
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Does FE typically not sell too well in UK or are things not looking too good for Engage? Itā€™s nowhere to be found. Itā€™s also missing from top 15 Eshop sellers in Europe for Feb.

nintendoeverything.com

Europe's top 15 downloads on the Switch eShop for February 2023

In a recent news post sent out to Switch owners, Nintendo provided a listing of the top 15 European eShop downloads for February 2023. Metroid Prime Remastered was a big surprise last month, and it managed to come out on top. Kirbyā€™s Return to Dream Land Deluxe and Octopath Traveler II also...
nintendoeverything.com nintendoeverything.com
 
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The problem with the narrative that "switch is selling well Nintendo doesn't need to move in yet" always misses that fact that it only take a couple months for Switch to suddenly not selling well enough anymore. That's on Nintendo to be prepared.
 
Scrawnton said:
The problem with the narrative that "switch is selling well Nintendo doesn't need to move in yet" always misses that fact that it only take a couple months for Switch to suddenly not selling well enough anymore. That's on Nintendo to be prepared.
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i mean perfidious albion has always skewed towards sony. the switch doing well there wasn't gonna last.
 
thoughthaver said:
i mean perfidious albion has always skewed towards sony. the switch doing well there wasn't gonna last.
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While that's certainly true, I think it's less to do with the specific market and more to do with it nearing the end of its life. Even in Japan the PS5 is almost doubling the Switch weekly.
 
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Other new releases that didn't make the Top 20 include Octopath Traveler 2 (No.58), Theatrhythm Final Bar Line (No.78) and Wild Hearts (No.139).
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While Octopath not doing too well here doesnā€™t surprise me (although itā€™s GOTY material for me, itā€™s a stunning rpg), I am surprised that Wild Hearts did so badly as to be at No. 139. For a new home console/PC multiplat AAA action game that seems really low, even for a hunting game.

Not really surprising that the PS5 is taking off either. Itā€™s 2.5 years after launch, shortages are largely resolved, and thereā€™s finally enough games people want to play. So itā€™s a mix of the people who would have been early adopters if they could find one, combined with the people like me who wait for their to be half a dozen titles they need the system to play before picking one up.

Switch is still doing well for a system six years in and on its downward curve. Zelda seems well timed to arrest its descent for a short time, but it seems completely understandable for a system thatā€™s done as well as it has to now be overtaken in weekly sales by a system that should be in its peak years.
 
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The more I read about sales and console market share the more I realize that xbox 360 was just a fluke. I mean if xbox series with gamepass can't surpass a 6 year old console then I don't know what else to think. You can say that all the exclusive games that are in development will increase xbox sales, but I'm afraid that would be too late.
 
Enpsty said:
The more I read about sales and console market share the more I realize that xbox 360 was just a fluke.
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It got a magic combo:

  • 1 year early to market.
  • Created a standard bearing OS for an online platform.
  • Secured a huge amount of 3rd party buy in.
  • Cheap.
  • Easy to develop.
  • Competitor seemingly set out to achieve the complete opposite of the above.
It took a real effort to kill it off.

I think they can claw it back tbh, they've set everything up for this to happen, but it won't happen for a few years and their catalogue builds. I think they'll hit it like Sony did with the PS3 gen - spread of big hitters and lower budget darlings, all sat on Gamepass. Sony pretty much want to be a blockbuster machine at this stage. If they step off it too long, things will flip.

I'll also be interested to see what a Switch 2 does to things. If it can punch above its weight, then it could be a real curveball.
 
Enpsty said:
The more I read about sales and console market share the more I realize that xbox 360 was just a fluke. I mean if xbox series with gamepass can't surpass a 6 year old console then I don't know what else to think. You can say that all the exclusive games that are in development will increase xbox sales, but I'm afraid that would be too late.
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Gotta remember too, the 360 was only really big in North America. Most everywhere else it was only so-so and in Japan it was a no-no. The gaming press didn't like it, but the Wii was on top that gen worldwide.
 
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Scrawnton said:
The problem with the narrative that "switch is selling well Nintendo doesn't need to move in yet" always misses that fact that it only take a couple months for Switch to suddenly not selling well enough anymore. That's on Nintendo to be prepared.
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Nintendo needs to release the succ in the next 12 months or they'll be in trouble.
 
Enpsty said:
The more I read about sales and console market share the more I realize that xbox 360 was just a fluke. I mean if xbox series with gamepass can't surpass a 6 year old console then I don't know what else to think. You can say that all the exclusive games that are in development will increase xbox sales, but I'm afraid that would be too late.
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It really wasn't a fluke. It was a genuinely amazing platform that had widespread appeal in many markets (sans Japan ofc)

The early hardware being so extremely prone to failure only really mattered when it came to the next gen, as most basically stuck to the console they bought for the gen. The mass migration happened when the new consoles came out.

Microsoft chasing the already dying Casual party game wave (that mostly switched to phones), the insane DRM proposal and that idiotic cable TV integration made sure that any goodwill was eradicated by the time the Xbone was announced to the sound of a big wet thud.

Even I switched to PS4 despite only really wanting it for the Naughty Dog Games. Xbone simply wasn't a tempting platform.

Now I feel like MS is still reeling from that early Xbone debacle, and they seem to have an especially hard time turning things back around.
They're coasting on Gamepass at the moment, but ober the long term they really need to get their franchises back at the top of the field, like Forza Horizon or Sea of Thieves.

Maybe retiring some old franchises for a while and focus on new stuff?
 
boris_feinbrand said:
Now I feel like MS is still reeling from that early Xbone debacle, and they seem to have an especially hard time turning things back around.
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Nah. The XB1's pre-launch marketing was terrible, but was addressed very quickly (most of the bad decisions were even reversed prior to the actual launch), and should have become a non-factor a few years into the generation. What's hurting Microsoft is something that would have caught up to them regardless of the state the XB1 launched in - their seeming lack of skill at developing and managing quality exclusive IP.

The last time Microsoft truly made people take notice with a new IP and managed to build on that success was probably Gears of War in 2006. Halo seems to be a mess and has apparently been in decline since ODST. The Gears franchise also seems to be in a creative rut among both fans and critics. The only flagship Xbox series that has remained consistent in both sales and critical reception is Forza, but it's an arcadey sim racer and not exactly the most exciting kind of IP. Microsoft Flight Simulator has also garnered a lot of praise, but it's another sim. Every other major attempt by Xbox Game Studios in the past decade or so seems to have just fizzled out. I hear Sea of Thieves turned itself around a few years after launch but is a significant number of people really buying an Xbox to play that game?

Meanwhile, Sony:
  • established the modern cinematic TPS with Uncharted 2
  • took the formula to new heights with The Last of Us
  • rebooted the God of War franchise into a 10+ M seller
  • tuned their take on Spider-Man into a 20+ M seller
  • created a new 10+ M seller franchise with Horizon
  • created another 10+ M seller IP with Ghost of Tsushima
Moreover, while PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE) started out as a sort of 'cooler' mix of Nintendo and Sega first-party, it has since found its own identity as the leading developer of prestige action games, which almost always earns them a spot in GOTY conversations. We all know the strength of Nintendo's brand and development studios. What is Xbox's identity? It used to be the shooter box but its exclusive shooters haven't been at the forefront of the genre for a while. It used to be the online box but PSN has more or less caught up to XBL and most notable online multiplayer games are multiplatform.

The issues with the Xbox brand run much deeper than one botched console launch and so far, Microsoft's only solution has been to throw absurd amounts of money at the problem.
 
GuaranĆ” said:
Nintendo needs to release the succ in the next 12 months or they'll be in trouble.
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I mean investors will hee and haw about every possible thing regardless. They always do.

The general public isn't going to suddenly be like "Oh I'm not buying Nintendo because they had the Switch out for too long and released too many I games I (statistically speaking) bought on the old console".

I'm tired of the "they'll be in trouble" being such a relevant narrative because it is almost entirely built on the back of the apocalyptic Wii to Wii U transition that had 5-10 other things that were much much much bigger problems.

It's not ideal for some people, and it's not ideal for investors clamoring for unsustainable infinite growth that are hell bent on ruining everything, but realistically Nintendo will be fine given they can still make well selling games and are currently in the process of diversifying their portfolio by leveraging their IP into other mediums.
 
EricTheGamerman said:
I'm tired of the "they'll be in trouble" being such a relevant narrative because it is almost entirely built on the back of the apocalyptic Wii to Wii U transition that had 5-10 other things that were much much much bigger problems.
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Every other failed Nintendo console had a successful handheld along side it keeping the company afloat. It's not like that this time. Nintendo cannot afford to mess around and screw up this transition to new hardware. It's better to release something while the iron is hot and allot Switch and it's successor to be on the market alongside each other for a couple years than it is to wait for Switch to start losing relevance and try selling something new.
 
John Omaha said:
Nah. The XB1's pre-launch marketing was terrible, but was addressed very quickly (most of the bad decisions were even reversed prior to the actual launch), and should have become a non-factor a few years into the generation. What's hurting Microsoft is something that would have caught up to them regardless of the state the XB1 launched in - their seeming lack of skill at developing and managing quality exclusive IP.

The last time Microsoft truly made people take notice with a new IP and managed to build on that success was probably Gears of War in 2006. Halo seems to be a mess and has apparently been in decline since ODST. The Gears franchise also seems to be in a creative rut among both fans and critics. The only flagship Xbox series that has remained consistent in both sales and critical reception is Forza, but it's an arcadey sim racer and not exactly the most exciting kind of IP. Microsoft Flight Simulator has also garnered a lot of praise, but it's another sim. Every other major attempt by Xbox Game Studios in the past decade or so seems to have just fizzled out. I hear Sea of Thieves turned itself around a few years after launch but is a significant number of people really buying an Xbox to play that game?

Meanwhile, Sony:
  • established the modern cinematic TPS with Uncharted 2
  • took the formula to new heights with The Last of Us
  • rebooted the God of War franchise into a 10+ M seller
  • tuned their take on Spider-Man into a 20+ M seller
  • created a new 10+ M seller franchise with Horizon
  • created another 10+ M seller IP with Ghost of Tsushima
Moreover, while PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE) started out as a sort of 'cooler' mix of Nintendo and Sega first-party, it has since found its own identity as the leading developer of prestige action games, which almost always earns them a spot in GOTY conversations. We all know the strength of Nintendo's brand and development studios. What is Xbox's identity? It used to be the shooter box but its exclusive shooters haven't been at the forefront of the genre for a while. It used to be the online box but PSN has more or less caught up to XBL and most notable online multiplayer games are multiplatform.

The issues with the Xbox brand run much deeper than one botched console launch and so far, Microsoft's only solution has been to throw absurd amounts of money at the problem.
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Everything you described is directly related to the disastrous Xbone pre launch strategy. Just because they reversed the DRM Bullshit doesn't negate the publicity damage they inflicted upon themselves.
Furthermore, the internal restructuring once Donny was ousted took a while to happen, and even longer to bear fruits.
Especially since many internal studios were still trying to make Kinect happen.
It led to them scrambling to push out half baked sequels to their first Party IPs.
Microsoft has still not recovered from the damage.
Especially since dev cycles are about as long as your average console life cycle now.
A major restructuring now takes multiple years to show results. Whereas Sony didn't need to completely restructure the Playstation division to salvage the PS3. They just needed to take a cut to their profit margins.

The Xbone could've been the death knell of the Brand. Considering where they've been at the start of last gen, it's amazing they even managed to claw back any semblance of relevancy. Even if they are far from being an exciting brand like Sony or Nintendo.
Their deep pockets certainly helped keeping them around.
 
boris_feinbrand said:
It really wasn't a fluke. It was a genuinely amazing platform that had widespread appeal in many markets (sans Japan ofc)

The early hardware being so extremely prone to failure only really mattered when it came to the next gen, as most basically stuck to the console they bought for the gen. The mass migration happened when the new consoles came out.

Microsoft chasing the already dying Casual party game wave (that mostly switched to phones), the insane DRM proposal and that idiotic cable TV integration made sure that any goodwill was eradicated by the time the Xbone was announced to the sound of a big wet thud.

Even I switched to PS4 despite only really wanting it for the Naughty Dog Games. Xbone simply wasn't a tempting platform.

Now I feel like MS is still reeling from that early Xbone debacle, and they seem to have an especially hard time turning things back around.
They're coasting on Gamepass at the moment, but ober the long term they really need to get their franchises back at the top of the field, like Forza Horizon or Sea of Thieves.

Maybe retiring some old franchises for a while and focus on new stuff?
Click to expand...
I mean fluke sales wise compare to everything else xbox.
The first xbox was kind of successful, but being the first Microsoft console we can cut it some slack.
The xbox one was not even close to compete with ps4 and everyone blamed it on the first disastrous year, something that didn't stop ps3 or 3ds to become super successful.
Then xbox series are out there and Microsoft have one cheap next gen console and a powerful one with freaking gamepass. Yet even now they can't compete.
People used to say that Sony need a gamepass equivalent otherwise xbox will surpass them. But apparently people still prefer to give 80$ for new games instead of buying an xbox.
 
Scrawnton said:
Every other failed Nintendo console had a successful handheld along side it keeping the company afloat. It's not like that this time. Nintendo cannot afford to mess around and screw up this transition to new hardware. It's better to release something while the iron is hot and allot Switch and it's successor to be on the market alongside each other for a couple years than it is to wait for Switch to start losing relevance and try selling something new.
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The Switch software still sells regularly. Even if the units are slowing down people are still buying the actual games. People are subscribed to the services and continually giving Ninty money.
 
Mer.Saloon said:
The Switch software still sells regularly. Even if the units are slowing down people are still buying the actual games. People are subscribed to the services and continually giving Ninty money.
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Which is why I said strike whole the iron is hot. There's no reason why Nintendo can't launch a Switch 2 this fall or early 2024 and do cross gen games for a couple years. This will keep software sales high while also building up Switch 2s user base to be high enough for exclusive games when Nintendo is ready to drop Switch as a platform.
 
Enpsty said:
I mean fluke sales wise compare to everything else xbox.
The first xbox was kind of successful, but being the first Microsoft console we can cut it some slack.
The xbox one was not even close to compete with ps4 and everyone blamed it on the first disastrous year, something that didn't stop ps3 or 3ds to become super successful.
Then xbox series are out there and Microsoft have one cheap next gen console and a powerful one with freaking gamepass. Yet even now they can't compete.
People used to say that Sony need a gamepass equivalent otherwise xbox will surpass them. But apparently people still prefer to give 80$ for new games instead of buying an xbox.
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A Fluke implies that they just happened upon success by accident. 360 at launch was laser focused at targeting the crowd that would usually go to Sony for their entertainment. The exclusive lineup was extremely strong, coupled with a plethora of strong 3rd party collabs. They hit the Zeitgeist pretty much spot on. However they completely fumbled the later part of the consoles life cycle.

The Kinect Focus and Xbone Plunder were much more damaging than Sony having an overpriced Console, and Nintendo trying to sell a gimmick that gave people headaches and was vastly inferior to comparable portable platforms in terms of hardware power. Both were easily rectified by substantial price cuts and focus on aggressive release schedules of popular games. The damage of MS mismanagement was a lot deeper and we're still seeing the fallout both in terms of player reception and developer resource allocations and strategic release preference.

Sony came from the position of absolute market leader with the PS2, so did Nintendo, the Xbone was the culmination of years of mismanagement and trend chasing.

Gamepass is a desperation move, not one of strength. For one it is absolutely underpriced to be viable long term.

Ultimately Xbox lacks Quality 1st party games with wide appeal. Their restructuring and acquisitions will bear fruits eventually. Sony built its current market position over decades, made possible by a constant strategy and clear direction. Meanwhile Microsoft (unsurprisingly their Windows8 era), struggled for years to get a clear message about the value of their platform across.
Personally I feel like they're not going to be competitive for this gen either. Game dev just takes more and more time, so even with all the acquisitions made, we're still a ways off of hitting critical mass in terms of quality and quantity.
 
"PS5 sales surge, Xbox sales improve, but Switch continues to struggle"

Switch just entered its 7. year on market, I would said decline in sales is expected not struggle,
but yeah, Nintendo needs Switch 2 in around 1-1.5 years.
 
Simba1 said:
"PS5 sales surge, Xbox sales improve, but Switch continues to struggle"

Switch just entered its 7. year on market, I would said decline in sales is expected not struggle,
but yeah, Nintendo needs Switch 2 in around 1-1.5 years.
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It's fairly typical of games reporting to be almost context-free.

Switch decline is natural now; especially in the UK, which isn't one of Nintendo's strong markets (especially for everything other than DS/Wii historically).

Also not sure why there's so much doom about "Nintendo shouldn't wait years to launch new hardware!" Who says new hardware is years away? Even if they wait into 2024 - and perhaps they have to, if price is a concern for them - Switch sales and engagement remain far higher than they were for a system like Wii back in 2011/12. There's zero sign Nintendo are determined to wait until Switch is completely dead before moving on and yet the idea keeps surfacing.
 
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