The results are in for Europe's October video game sales, and there are some interesting facts and figures to chew on. As always, GamesIndustry.biz has all the details.
For one, Dragon Age: The Veilguard landed at number seven in the monthly chart, but its launch week sales were down compared to other RPGs of 2024. Sales were about 18 per cent lower than Dragon's Dogma 2, and 21 per cent below Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth — which didn't meet Square Enix's typically lofty expectations. Hopefully we learn more from EA about the game's sales in future.
Elsewhere, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the main contributor to a year-on-year increase of 12.4 per cent for Europe's games market. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has been a huge success for the franchise, with its launch sales more than doubling those of the next fastest-selling Dragon Ball title (Kakarot).
Other new releases in the top 10 include Silent Hill 2 and Undisputed.
On the hardware side, sales are down year-on-year by 26 percent. PS5's October sales are down by nearly 29 per cent, while Switch is down 10 per cent and Xbox Series down about 49 per cent.
Here's the software top 10 for Europe in October 2024 (physical and digital data included).
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Activision Blizzard)
- EA Sports FC 25 (EA)
- Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (Bandai Namco)
- Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)
- Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo)*
- Silent Hill 2 (Konami)
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard (EA)
- Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)*
- Undisputed (Plaion)
*Nintendo does not share digital sales data.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 44
Hoping Astro bot returns to the top seller list during the holidays. Game deserves to sell a ton.
I'm really enjoying the game, has to be said. I'm over 130 hours in now. There are occasionally a few questionable bits of writing, perhaps, but I think that comes from not being able to be a dark or evil protagonist, which is a little disappointing. However I don't think the story really lends itself to that style of play anyway.
The only issue that I really have with the game is the truly unnecessary hints as to how to solve puzzles. The accompanying characters pipe-up all the time with hints even when the solution is absolutely flaming obvious!
You would think from all the discourse around the game that it was absolutely terrible, but it really isn't...
@Fiendish-Beaver GoW Ragnarok had the same issue with puzzles, and that eventually got patched. Maybe there’s hope for Veilguard.
@Fiendish-Beaver same here! I’ve recently played ME legendary, and I am of the opinion that BioWare has had a penchant for corny writing and dialogue for decades, even if DA cranks the dial on that a bit. That said the gameplay and exploration bits I feel were done pretty well in DAV and have been having a blast with build crafting despite the game’s warts
How is Hogwarts Legacy (21 months old) out selling two big new Nintendo Releases, a new Dragon Age and Silent Hill 2.
I honestly think DA:V is a really polished and well made game with a solid story and gameplay. It's a shame that games like this end up as a target. Veilguard, Rebirth and Alan Wake 2 deserve better success than they've received.
@Fiendish-Beaver it's a genuinely fun game. Really been enjoying my time with it too. I agree with a lot of the criticism I've heard but they feel blown out of proportion.
This is what happens when it takes you 10 years to make a sequel (and you release some duds in the meanwhile). People lose trust and interest.
wow, does this mean everybody on earth has finally now purchased Mario kart 8? haha
@MeanBeanEgg I'll never like TLoU2. Nothing to do with culture war nonsense, for me. I hated the narrative choices made and hated what was done to Ellie and Joel. The first game I treasure and adore.
@UltimateOtaku91
Dont know, but I really liked the game, so I am happy.
Have been really enjoying DAV.
Its not perfect, and so far (ive not completed it yet) Pushsquares 8/10 seems the right score, but the game is really quite good.
The hate this game got from a loud minority is shameful.
I got the platinum for DA:V the other day and loved my time with it. While there is some cringey dialogue, a lot of it is actually fantastic. Some is actually peak BioWare. It’s a shame this game got flack because it’s a solid game. It came out fully polished, with hardly any bugs. The combat is really fun and dynamic, and adds a lot of flexibility. The ending stretch is fantastic, with great story moments, and genuine consequences similar to Mass Effect 2’s suicide run. The companion quests are quite great and well developed over time. Side quests are good, and exploration is rewarding. There are so many positives for this game, even if people don’t like the writing or the characters. The overall package is wonderful. At its core it’s a good game. Yet STALKER 2 releases and everyone seems more forgiving of its issues (understandably so, considering the war), and I don’t get it. Oh well, I’m excited for that game as well.
I shall buy my copy of Veilguard, once I get paid next week. I shall buy the Xbox version.
Only because I have all of the other Dragon Age games on Xbox.
I am not certain that Veilguard is going to be quite as good as Inquisition, but I want to play it, with an open mind, to find out.
The trailer was cartoonish, and the dialogue sounds cheesy, but the videos of actual gameplay look amazing.
And Hogwarts Legacy is still selling well, I see, over a year after release. Let’s hope that Veilguard is as good as Hogwarts.
Go woke go broke seems to be a thing
@ChimpMasta totally agree. People trying to make it part of a 'culture war', I really don't get how they can be so easily influenced. A bad story is a bad story. If they like it, that's fine, I don't point at some existential crisis as the only reason why they like it, though I disagree strongly.
So a multiplatform game has sold 21% less units across Europe than a PS5 exclusive which itself (unfortunately) underperformed.
Is the world now done pretending that Veilguard was a success, or do we have to wait until EA begrudgingly admits they lost over $100 million on it?
Honestly, Dragon Age’s marketing was terrible and it alienated the BioWare faithful. I don’t blame the developers on the sales here. This is 100% on EA for basically going the same direction that Prince of Persia did with marketing by trying to appeal to a youth that doesn’t buy these games as much as a little bit older demographic that would’ve welcomed the game if it felt like it was welcoming them. Gaming marketing has sort of fallen off a cliff this generation.
Shame as its a great game, easily the best one since the first one..
I'm definitely not part of the "modern audience " and I think the game is fine. Sure, it's not like the other games in the series but I really don't mind the change. I'm only in chapter 1 as I'm waiting to finish Ys 9 first before I get into it but I wanted to support the devs so I bought it on release day.
@Nem This is a new entry to the series I think that response is a bit nonsense.
@somnambulance The dialogue and characterization is rather juvenile, they did away with a lot of the gore and pushed the art style in a distinctly Disney direction while the gameplay has shifted towards accessible ARPG fair. If anything, the marketing reflects the overall design choices quite well.
I opted to pick it up on Steam instead of PS to draw my own conclusions, and unfortunately refunded it for the above reasons. Modern Bioware just isn't for me.
I maybe wrong in this, @Matthewnh, but I think there is a way of using your character from Inquisition, or something similar, in Veilguard, so you are best to stick to the same platform. Maybe worth looking into it...
@Fiendish-Beaver
I get the feeling that many years have passed between the two games. I doubt that the Inquisitor plays any significant part in the events of the new game.
But perhaps there is a way to set out previous choices and backstory? Even for the sake of continuity. Some of the events of Inquisition must still have consequences, or else why bother?
But I agree, I shall stick with the same platform, once next week comes around.
@MeanBeanEgg you directly attributed people not liking TLoU2 to some culture war, so you were talking about me even if you were generalising. That's the thing with throwing out generalisations willy nilly as if it's the sole reason, you end up including a majority of people who don't fit into such a reductive narrative.
@Fiendish-Beaver The discourse around Veilguard has been absolutely out of line. I enjoyed my time with it earning the plat.
@Michael2008ish The art style. Disney-ish, as in overly saturated and noticeably stylized - not my first choice for dark fantasy...
It wasn't about rainbows, no, which is what made the tone, characterization and general dialogue choices so frustrating. They where fundamentally at odds with the story (and series), undermining any actual sense of severity. I personally found it unengaging as a result, and found myself disliking characters in a short span of time. Rook included, largely due to the bland, toothless dialogue choices, at which point I figured it wasn't for me.
This game sold well enough because dragon age is a popular IP. Not surprised how it has done considering that most consumers blindly will buy a new release from [insert IP here]. As most people don’t do research or are in the know. I am one of those people whom don’t buy games or movies if they fail my standards, having the wrong ethos.
@Michael2008ish Sure thing, it's an opinion. It didn't entertain me, so I refunded it.
With 3 multi-plat titles and one PS exclusive under my belt, albeit in a more technical role, I'd like to think I've had a hand in creating something...
Removed - off-topic
Wait a second, didn't you guys publish an article a while back stating that Dragon Age sales were keeping pace with Dragon's Dogma 2 and Rebirth? Now you're saying it sold less than those two? Which is it?
I bought it on release and sank a pleasant enough 20 or so hours into it, before downloading ‘Dragon Age: Inquisition’ to replay, I couldn’t go back to it after.
It’s just a very shallow, hollow shell of a game. It’s fun enough, but dated level design, lightbeam puzzle galore, and companions that range from blander than bare bread to actively annoying.
I didn’t unlock everyone, maybe the last two companions are great, or the story kicks up a gear, but what I played was aggressively mediocre.
"Still in the tope ten though"
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what we call cope.
https://youtu.be/EFxCPWd07_Q?si=OAGCHscnX66HdPgd
Love this video where Rook happily gets all of his companions killed.
I think ff7 won't see above expected sales till the 3rd part and we get a complete package of all 3 games
@Weez I’ll be honest. I didn’t really like this Dragon Age either. I let a friend buy and then try. I was just too skeptical and felt like I was right.
"Xbox Series down about 49 per cent".
It's very ironic that Xbox's "biggest generational leap ever" will be a handheld. Does it even make sense to release a true Series X/S successor at this point?
For the modern gamer.
@MeanBeanEgg you are part of the culture war because you actually think TLoU2 is part of some 'war' that doesn't exist beyond the minds of ideologues on both sides. Don't fall for that narrative. Remember, the internet is NOT representative of anything, people are far more prone to complain than they are to praise, and fans like me who loved TLoU but hated what happened with 2 aren't part of some stupid invented war.
@MeanBeanEgg gaslight? You're really filling up the buzzword bingo card. Fine, keep bringing up culture wars whenever you don't agree with people's outlook on a game just because you saw a couple of comments that made you feel that way, it's your right.
@MeanBeanEgg and that constitutes a culture war 🙄 I guess Elder Scrolls is part of the culture war. And Titan Souls. And Skyrim. And Star Wars: Battlefront 2. And......
@MeanBeanEgg so saying 'woke' means you're part of a 'war'. Don't you see how ridiculous that sounds. And there's no way you've read all the reviews to know 'most' were to do with wokeness. Once again, you're perpetuating a narrative to suit a position you want to believe. And even if I agreed with you, why is having a different opinion about woke being good or bad a 'war' in the first place? Don't you see how you're feeding into the ***** around all of it?
@Flaming_Kaiser I don't know what you are on about. I said people lost contact with the series and trust on bioware quality has been lost.
Of course it's in the series. It says in the name. It does look very unlike the series though. The characters look like plastic toys now.
@Nem Its not the old Bioware anymore now most of the people left it's a new group of people.
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