If the UK's physical sales data is anything to go by, Horizon Forbidden West has got to be PS5's most successful exclusive so far. Granted, it's being bundled with the console itself, but it still continually puts the open world epic near the top of the chart every week. It's holding its place at number two once again.
Fellow first-party game, The Last of Us: Part I, is on the move, though. The PS5-only remake of the classic adventure is now in 10th place, moving down from fourth. Elsewhere, NBA 2K23 remains in sixth place, and yes, Grand Theft Auto V makes its return to the top 10 in ninth.
Here's the latest top 10 in full.
UK Sales Charts: Week Ending 17th September 2022
- Splatoon 3
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Minecraft (Switch)
- NBA 2K23
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus
- Grand Theft Auto V
- The Last of Us: Part I
Comments 50
It'll be interesting to see what happens with The Last of Us when the HBO show launches.
I doubt we'll see it near the Top 10 again unless there's a sale or a bundle, but it feels like the kind of game that will be hovering around for a while yet.
As for Horizon, I'm still playing it and still loving it.
@shepherd_tallon it wont boost it much, unless it has a big sale. it dropped 66% from week1 -week2. was always going to be good week1, with a few spikes around sales
@stvevan Yeah for sure.
All those Nintendo games hold their prices for years and still sell well. That's the benefit of making quality games I guess. PS are in the same league as Nintendo for quality but eventually their prices fall. Why is that? As for MS, GP just means they don't have to bother with quality 1st party IP as quantity and acquisitions seems to be their mantra.
Hardly surprising. It's a remake of a less than ten year old game that has an even newer remaster that holds up very well. Was always likely to dip significantly after week 1. This is to be expected.
Of course its going to be up there when its bundled with the console 🤦♂️ who the ***** writes these articles haha WOW
@riceNpea I don't think it's about quality, really. God of War (ps4), The Last of Us 1 (not the remake) and many others are just as good, if not better than first party Ninty games, yet don't sell well for such long periods of time. Simply put, people who buy Nintendo consoles also buy first party games. Sony/MS owners don't seem to think that way, hence why so many simply buy Fifa and COD every year and nothing else.
Edit: sorry, just read the second part of your comment.
@riceNpea Was chatting about this with NES the other day. It does seem that this generation Sony are being much stingier about reducing their prices, especially digitally. So perhaps they are slightly going the Nintendo route. E.g. H:FW has only had one digital sale, just 25% off, from £69.99 to £52.49. Even a launch title like Demon's Souls, getting towards two years old at this point, has only been reduced 38% from £69.99 to £43.39 in a handful of sales.
Not sure I fully agree on the "MS don't do quality just quantity mantra", I know that's the popular opinion, especially here, but they seem to be trying to turn that around. Last year they were the highest average rated publisher with games like Forza Horizon 5, Psychonauts 2, Deathloop, MS Flight Sim and Halo Infinite. With an of 87.4% on Metacritic which actually set a new record. Obviously too early to tell if this was a one off blip or a new leaf but it was a statement of intent.
@ricenpea ninty dont drop prices as they know they can screw parents as kids want games whether priced at 10 or 70. but sony/ms know they will sell X at full retail but that they need to drop it to get the more hard to part with cash adults
@themightyant I get what you are saying about last year and MS (thought Deathloop wasn't a 1st party MS game, and Halo was pretty broken, not good on the quality front) but they've been long way to go to make up for 2 console generations of time where compared to their peers they've barely bothered while they built their GP brand)
The future will certainly be better for them but like I said that's only because of spending huge amounts on studio acquisitions which ultimately is very anti gamer as they've taken away many franchises from non MS gamers. Not the way I like console platforms to solve their lack of 1st party IP 😔
@naruball it's impressive how those Nintendo games keep selling. I haven't bought a Nintendo system for years, is the library of games smaller for it? Is that a reason why?
@themightyant thats the reason i paid extra for disc, as ps store 'sales' are usually worse (i get convenience, no boxes etc) but already saints row is 35 new on ebay for example. HFW is 35-40 so you soon save the extra outlay, not to mention preowned.
@stvevan Any first party game is around £40 day one on Turkish psn store if you're willing to set up an account.
@Smiffy01 and download an app... and set up a crypto account...and link your bank account...and transfer money....and look at the cash conversion rate to understand the charge...and only buy digital games...
Horizon Forbidden West did seem to get a bit more shade than it deserved at release (almost like a microcosm for Sony as a whole this last couple of years as it goes). So I’m glad that it’s racking up those numbers… bundle numbers or otherwise.
@colonelkilgore just like the first game did. Websites called it generic, and a mix of well-worn ideas, but it was far more than the sum of its parts. The story itself was excellent and the robot dinosaur game mechanics and AI were very engaging.
@stvevan Same. I refuse to give Sony, or anyone, sole control of the pricing. I almost always buy Day 1 physical, often sell them. But I so buy far more digitally in the sales, and indies that don't come up physically. The reality is most people are happy enough paying for Switch prices. But games are usually £50 tops.
@riceNpea No the the Switch has over 5,000 games. More than PS2 (around 4,000) and PS4 (around 3,500), but like Steam (50,000+) there is a lot of crud too. The handheld form factor of Switch is a huge pull for anyone who can't always get access to a TV, children, parents, commuters, etc. I know many dad's who would no longer game if they didn't have a Switch. It enables quick pick up and play sessions.
@colonelkilgore 100% agreed. It's a really great game and deserved more than the "killed by Elden Ring" meme it got. Even if a lot of those sales are PS5 bundle related it's great to see it doing well.
@riceNpea Ive gone digital since ps4,1% charge on crypto.com virtual visa, still better than £70 a game took 15mins to set it all up and 2 days for the card to be approved, piece of piss.
I hope Sony learn a lesson from this but I doubt it
@Smiffy01 I know, I've done it too. Some people do find it difficult though, seem plenty of confused folk on HUKD.
@themightyant right thanks.
I've wanted a Switch for ages but I'm put off by its still high cost, having to buy memory cards, but most of all by the joy pad drift issue. I know I'll suffer from that because I spend a lot of time gaming.
@riceNpea Deathloop is made by Arkane, who are wholly owned by Microsoft via their acquisition of Bethesda. Therefore it is a Microsoft first party studio and game. The fact that it came out on PS first due to earlier licensing agreements doesn't change that. Just as MLB The Show and Sony San Diego is still a Sony first party game/studio despite the fact it comes out on Xbox now due to licensing agreements.
I guess you could argue that most of it's development happened before they were acquired so should it really count in their tally? But frankly that would be splitting hairs.
I agree I don't like all the mass spending and consolidation on ALL sides of the industry, but at least Sony MOSTLY buys studios that they have worked almost exclusively with for years, hence it seems more natural than Bethesda, ABK etc. But this is changing recently with purchases of Firesprite, Nixxies and most obviously Bungie for $3.7 billion.
@riceNpea people wondered if that was the case with Ninty consoles some years ago before the switch came out, but then the switch got a lot of third party games and yet first party games sold incredibly well, so it can't be the reason. I think people who buy Nintendo hardware do so for the exclusives, especially for well established franchises. And since they never get a discount, no one wait for or expects a sale.
@riceNpea My view. If you always play at home on a TV and don't have problems having access to it then a Switch is nice to have but not essential.
On the flip side if you have time you could be playing e.g. Commuting, or don't always have access to a TV, or partner wants you to sit next to them on the couch when they watch tv then a Switch (or Steam Deck) is a godsend. Basically just gives you more game time.
The exclusives are brilliant though. Zelda: BOTW was my game of the last generation (followed by God of War). Mario Odyssey is a delight, and many indies and retro games play better on a small handheld screen to me that blown up a giant TV.
As for drift just buy the Official Switch Pro Controller. It's basically a better Xbox pad. No major drift issues. Alternatively you can just buy kits to fix the drift for super cheap anyway online, I bought one for £15 with all the screwdrivers/tools and 4 spare sticks. And now that I know how to do it and have the tools I can just buy the replacement sticks of ebay for about £5 for a pack of 2. It is a minor hassle, but much quicker than dealing Nintendo directly.
As for Memory cards, Switch games are generally much smaller than PS/XB games and SD cards are very cheap relatively. Anything from a 256GB SD (about £25) will do you fine. I actually only have a 128GB one in mine since launch.
@themightyant not when Deathloop was being developed. It's a stretch for me to consider it an MS exclusive, MS aquire the studio 5 months before the game'srelease..but I get your point and technically you're right.
As for Sony...like you say they aquire studios they've had long relationships with and supported financially, and who release mostly exclusive titles to PS. It's a natural progression to choose to buy them out. What MS is doing is bollocks, especially with Activision. Ok Bethesda had ties to MS but not for 2nd party exclusivity. They've totally given up on making 1st party games over the last 2 decades and chosen to buy their way out of complacency.
Sorry mate if I sound confrontational, I'm not 😊 I just really hate what they're doing and their GP business model being their primary concern. I thank goodness for Nintendo and Sony for innovating. PSVR2 can't come soon enough.
@riceNpea As I said I don't like what MS is doing, but then I haven't been a fan of what Sony has done with paid exclusives or that they are responding in kind by buying studios like Bungie.
@themightyant ahh I totally forgot about the pro controller. You may have tipped the scales!!
@riceNpea Seems a lot of folk get error because they havent topped up enough credit, i followed Joey's guide hes a good lad.
@themightyant yes Bungie is an outlier. I can see the logic from Sony, though they did pay too much, but I think if live service gaming is the aim Bungie games will be multiplatform.
@naruball Nintendo has built that fanbase by providing solid, reliable gaming for decades. I can't really fault them for how they choose to run their business. Every generation they innovate and freshen up the entire industry, and they do it without even trying to compete with Sony and MS. They stayed relevant where so many other have failed by adhering to that approach and they're proved right. People complain about them but I dread losing them and leaving behind only Sony and especially MS. As far as I'm concerned if MS ever got into a position where they are the dominant platform in the industry it'll be the end of why I have loved gaming for 40+ years.
riceNpea wrote:
Also Nixxies, Firesprite And Fabrik games (who Firesprite acquired AFTER the Sony buyout). It's no longer just one or two outliers, their strategy HAS changed.
Also agree they paid too much, especially not to have exclusivity - although I don't want that, gaming should be more open not less open.
That said like you I do understand the logic of it all, as I also understand the logic in all their other gaming related investments (Epic, FromSoft, Kadokawa Corp, Devolver Digital, GSN, Discord, AccelByte etc.). But then I also understand the LOGIC of what MS are doing, it's smart business, even if I don't personally like it.
@Smiffy01 couldn’t it be seen as fraud giving a company the wrong information when you agree to the terms and conditions?
@riceNpea The Nintendo situation is just basic market economics. The switch has only sold around half as much software as the PS4(this will be surprising to a lot of people, in fact it still hasn't even beaten the PS3 software total) but it is around 20% 3rd party games, whereas the PS4 is around 85% 3rd party.
Basically the first party Nintendo games exist in their own near monopolistic market where the only competition for individual games are the other first party titles.
What the sales charts hide is that the Switch only sells a constant stream of the same games, while selling very few games outside of those mega hits.
Switching between Elden Ring and Horizon to take a break from each was a great combo.
I will get LoU1 at some strange, I’m busy with all the PS Extra games at the moment, and it’s a bit pricey here in Australia.
@ChrisDeku fascinating, thanks for that info.
@Philbop Nah not really i got a turkish uncle i stay there sometumes. Ill tell you what fraud is, £70 for TLOU lol sorry.
@themightyant @riceNpea Microsoft and Sony's strategy with acquisitions are different (at least it looks to be). Microsoft's strategy appears to try and force Game Pass everywhere. See for example how the CoD deal if the Activision acquisition goes through is only a measly 3 years and then it goes Xbox console exclusive unless Sony adds Game Pass to Playstation.
Meanwhile Sony's strategy appears to be to try and create a live service empire where their live service games become as big as Fortnite. The acquisitions made since Jim Ryan took over:
Which leaves Bluepoint, Valkyrie and Housemarque which is pretty much unknown what they're doing.
Don't like either acquisition strategy but Sony's strategy at least is a lot less monopolistic.
@Smiffy01 hahaha couldn’t agree more with that one buddy
@Philbop Hehe word up son
I think TLoU remake was obviously gonna drop down the charts when you look at the facts as to why and not necessarily due to all the negativity surrounding its release, although that must have something to do with it in some way too but I don't think all that much
HFW on PS4 and PS5 plus it's obviously bundled in with a huge amount of PS5 consoles
Switch games are more than likely to do well in charts when having well over 100+ mil Switch consoles
GTA5 Well this one is obvious, not only because it continues to be a very popular game but because its almost available on everything PS4, PS5, XONE, Series X/S and PC
Then you have TLoU remake not only with some of the negativity surrounding its release but also only being available on a PS5 console which at moment is only at 21+ mil consoles
Some of these facts will obviously get ignored because ignorant minds exist all the time
Grumblevolcano wrote:
I see this mentioned a lot, and yet they still sell all their first-party games normally on Xbox and PC. Game Pass is just an option. Granted it's a compelling one for many and clearly MS' favourite option, but it is optional. (FWIW i'm a happily signed up member of both GPU, and PS++.)
Me neither, but is it really more monopolistic? They are third place in a three horse console race. That isn't a monopoly by any sense of the definition. And yet in some ways yes I agree and in others I don't. E.g. MS have fully embraced playing across platforms PC, Xbox, Mobile, Tablet, they don't care where you play as long as you play somewhere with them. Meanwhile Sony do care exactly where you play and want to lock you into their one proprietary platform, crucially where all sales go through them... as long as they get at least 30%. Granted they have recently started to branch out into PC ports, but those are mostly much much later and still they will get 70% - 88% of those first party titles.
I agree the TYPE of studios they are acquiring are a little different, to match different business strategies, but the actual recent acquisition strategy is similar. Sony used to only really buy up studios and companies they had a long and mostly exclusive relationship with, that is not longer the case.
@riceNpea the newer Joycons have supposedly addressed the drift issue. I am of course biased, but the Switch is a cool system, if for no other reason portability or being able to play whilst someone else is using the the TV, tho I guess u can do that on the other systems now too.
Wow, Splatoon 3 is on top again. Nice!
@riceNpea The Switch hosts a lot of games, but it's worth mentioning that the vast majority of third-party AAA titles aren't on the system. The majority of 'big' games in its library are first-party and third-party exclusives designed with the specs of the hardware in mind. So unless you want a dedicated handheld platform for smaller indie and AA releases, the biggest reason to buy a Switch is for the exclusives, and the majority of worthwhile exclusives on the platform are published by Nintendo.
The Switch is selling really well at the price point its at, so a price drop seems extremely unlikely. In general, price drops a last resort for Nintendo. They prefer to just release cheaper hardware revisions like the Nintendo Switch Lite, which is a dedicated handheld version of the system.
I have played Horizon Forbidden West and TLOU1 (the original not any of the remakes) on that list. So 1 game.
Splatoon 3 showed up today - I guess I forgot I had it on the GameFly list. Do not have Nintendo Online, I will check the single player campaign before sending it back. Last I played was #1
Basically have my Switch for any exclusive jRPGs at this point.
@themightyant You do have the choice on Microsoft hardware but having to subscribe to Game Pass to play multiplatform franchise on platform it had always natively came to is forcing Game Pass.
You can tell that CoD has the potential to cause a Microsoft monopoly even with Xbox currently in 3rd by how the acquisition progress has gone so far. Both Sony's complaints and regulators' concerns have only been about CoD becoming Xbox console exclusive. No other franchise has been mentioned by either party.
Nintendo will be perfectly fine whichever outcome happens (CoD hasn't been on a Nintendo platform since 2013) but the chain of acquisitions that follow as a result may hurt them like if Sony acquires Square Enix for example.
@themightyant @riceNpea One thing that will be interesting to see is what happens to prices in 2023, if the loaded deck of releases across the industry holds. It's been easy for Sony to hold high prices the past year or two because hardly anything has been releasing. Sure, 2022 is BEYOND loaded for weebs, but not for the "mainstream" market. So the odd major release has held it's value. With 2023 potentially being a glut of major games across the industry crowding each other out, maybe we'll finally see price pressure pushing these prices down. If not, we know Sony's holding tight to a Nintendo-like model and trying to throw "brand prestige" weight around, even if it stifles sales volume.
@NEStalgia I've never been too bothered about prices of games as I just chose to buy it at a price that suits me, even if its a year or years later.
All that higher prices mean to me is that I'm roughly anywhere between a few months to 2 years behind the release schedule, I'm still never without something new to play so it really doesn't affect me.
There is only a tiny selection of games I must play at launch and one of them Pro Evo is no longer one of them. A new Naughty Dog game would be another, and if DICE ever make a decent BF game again that would be one too.
@riceNpea Haha, yeah, that's pretty much the same place I am at this point. I used to buy more or less everything at launch that interested me back when they were $50, and when Best Buy and Amazon were competing with the 20% off preorders that brought it to 50. I backed off a lot at 60. And at 70, not a chance. I can wait years. I still didn't even finish GoW2018 (admittedly I got bored by the second return to the lake but intend to finish it before Ragnarok) so....yeah, 2024-25 is fine if that's how long it takes to discount it enough. I just hope Sony doesn't go the Nintendo route where NSMBU is still full price since 2012. With Nintendo, it doesn't matter if you preorder or buy it 10 years later, it's still the same darned price.
I believe tlou 1 will be more successful if the game is sold at $70 for new users, but with discount for gamers that already have the ps4 version, and even bigger discount for gamers that have the ps3 and ps4 version as a thank you for supporting the game.
@NEStalgia With nintendo (switch), it's kind of nice that the cartridge I bought 2-3 years ago still have good price when I want to sell it now, compared to sony 1st party titles disc that will have way cheaper price because their games usually discounted a couple of month after release.
There's nothing more annoying that selling sony 1st party games (like returnal) at nearly 50% discount after playing it only for a couple of months.
riceNpea wrote:
Yes! Like you and @NEStalgia I started doing this permanently at the start of PS4 generation when patches started getting out of hand and Day 1 games became the defacto worst versions. Most non-first party games are half price within 6-12 months and by that point basically complete barring a few minor patches.
That said there are still a few games, or games from certain studios, I will always want to play Day 1. Nintendo, Bethesda, Santa Monica, etc. But with the exception of Bethesda they usually release relatively polished products Day 1.
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