Gi.Biz | UK Boxed Charts 11/10/21 | Dread fastest-selling Metroid game in UK history, FIFA 22 outselling FIFA 21 despite sharp drop in boxed sales

[ghostcrew]

Here's this week's UK boxed charts (so no digital) from the fine folks at Gamesindustry.biz.

ElectricBlanketFire shared the tweet about Metroid last night, but here's the full article with the charts info.

Metroid Dread is the highest-grossing Metroid game launch in UK history | UK Boxed Charts

Updated: This article originally reported that Metroid Dread was the fastest-selling Metroid game in the UK based on bo…

www.gamesindustry.biz

FIFA 22 coming in at number one as no surprise. As previously reported, boxed sales are sharply down on last year but, as you'd expect, the game is still outpacing FIFA 21 when you include ever increasing digital sales (which aren't tracked in these weekly charts).

EA's FIFA 22, which holds firm at No.1 for a second week. The game dropped 58% in boxed sales week-on-week, which is quite a small drop for FIFA -- last year's game dropped 65% in its second week.

It's worth noting that FIFA sales at boxed retail have fallen sharply year-on-year. Currently FIFA 22's boxed sales are 32% lower than what FIFA 21 managed over the same two-week period (this is according to GfK's retail sales data).

However, the game has actually sold better than ever before via digital downloads, and as a result, FIFA 22 is currently beating its predecessor in the UK overall (digital download data is supplied by GSD, but arrives later in the week).

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Far Cry 6 coming in as new entry at number two. Again, sales sharply down on the previous entry but the lack of digital tracking probably skews this a good amount.

FIFA's closest rival this week is Far Cry 6 from Ubisoft. The game's boxed sales are almost 70% lower than Far Cry 5, which was released in March 2018. 47% of sales were on PS5, 24% on PS4 and 29% on Xbox platforms. The drop looks severe, but even in three years digital has accelerated significantly, and as we saw with FIFA, it almost certainly did a lot better than it appears.

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And then we have Metroid Dread, which comes in as the fast selling Metroid game in UK history.

It sold three and a half times more copies at launch than the last 2D Metroid Game: Metroid: Samus Returns, which launched on 3DS in 2017, after the Switch had some out.

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Much more info and game tracking at the link, so check it out.

This week's boxed Top Ten as follows, including four new entries...

Last Week	This Week	Title
1	1	FIFA 22
New Entry	2	Far Cry 6
New Entry	3	Metroid Dread
2	4	Mario Kart 8: Deluxe
New Entry	5	Alan Wake Remastered
5	6	Minecraft (Switch)
7	7	Animal Crossing: New Horizons
New Entry	8	Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania
10	9	Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
9	10	Grand Theft Auto 5

 

[Pankratous]

Curious - what's the profit margin for the publisher of a game when sold digitally vs physically?

Digital - 30% cut to Sony/MS/Steam, for example.

Physical ... printing, shipping, retail, materials, and presumably still some cut going to Sony/MS/Steam

Just thinking in terms of FIFA... if it's starting to go mostly digital, profits must be soaring right?

 

[mpak]

Yeah, Ubisoft is gonna be fine.
Though boxed charts are useless.

 

[Poldino]

Those Alan Wake and FC6 PS-Xbox splits are insane

Also, very happy for Metroid, deserved

 

[Kalor]

Monkey Ball is also selling double over the previous game, which is good to see.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

FIFA's closest rival this week is Far Cry 6 from Ubisoft. The game's boxed sales are almost 70% lower than Far Cry 5, which was released in March 2018. 47% of sales were on PS5, 24% on PS4 and 29% on Xbox platforms. The drop looks severe, but even in three years digital has accelerated significantly, and as we saw with FIFA, it almost certainly did a lot better than it appears.

Click to shrink...

Metroid Dread is the highest-grossing Metroid game launch in UK history | UK Boxed Charts

Updated: This article originally reported that Metroid Dread was the fastest-selling Metroid game in the UK based on bo…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Interesting to see. Digital will definitely make up a big part of the gap but surely not the full amount?

Lock if old.

 

[ILikeFeet]

UK has digital be a big point, so it's hard to gauge anything without digital numbers

 

[CloseTalker]

These physical UK sales numbers only get more and more irrelevant as time goes on. It's almost impossible to have an educated conversation around them when digital isn't factored into the equation

 

[Quinton]

Yeah, this means so much less than it may appear at first blush.

 

[pswii60]

These physical UK sales numbers only get more and more irrelevant as time goes on. It's almost impossible to have an educated conversation around them when digital isn't factored into the equation

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For PS5/XS definitely (well obviously XSS is 100% digital). Switch still shifts a lot of physical though

 

[RedOnePunch]

Might not be relevant here but I wonder how digital PC sales are impacted with Ubisoft no longer releasing games on Steam.

 

[Deleted member 46948]

Physical sales don't mean shit anymore.

 

[thankyoumerzbow]

is it too early to see how metroid is doing?

 

[Freezasaurus]

Physical sales don't mean shit anymore.

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Right. I mean, didn't digital hit over 50% of game sales last year? More and more people are adopting digital now.

 

[CubeApple76]

This is why looking at physical sales for any kind of definitive metrics is pointless.

 

[Okabe]

Incoming best selling Far Cry yet

 

[AHA-Lambda]

is it too early to see how metroid is doing?

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it's doing very well

Metroid Dread is the biggest launch for the franchise in UK chart history, beating Prime 3 by a good margin (doesn't include digital downloads)

This makes me so happy. What a homerun.

www.resetera.com

 

[Raigor]

We have people happy that FIFA 22 boxed sales are lower than FIFA 21

And with digital, FIFA 22 did better than FIFA 21 lol

Physical sales in 2021 for the big AAA titles are pointless.

Incoming best selling Far Cry yet

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FC5 was Ubisoft 2nd biggest launch ever, only behind The Division.

They made more than $310 million in revenue at launch.

Don't think 6 is going to perform as good, even LTD.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

It's clear that without digital a massive chunk of the story is missing, but even still having a 70% drop at retail is still interesting enough on its own imo

Even with digital though is that enough to make up for a 70% decline? I genuinely have no idea, I'm curious.

 

[Hercule]

I think people aren't buying ubisoft games day one because they drop in price faster than Sonic

 

[UglySofaGaming]

Don't discount how terrible Far Cry 5s ending is. The marketing for a creepy doomsday cult taking over a valley was really good and really current but they lost me by the end of the game for good

 

[thankyoumerzbow]

it's doing very well

Metroid Dread is the biggest launch for the franchise in UK chart history, beating Prime 3 by a good margin (doesn't include digital downloads)

This makes me so happy. What a homerun.

www.resetera.com

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nice, thats awesome

 

[Twister]

Physical sales don't mean shit anymore.

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Apparently 50% of all game sales on PS4/PS5 means nothing now. All these people out here trying to push an anti-physical agenda

 

[Temascos]

If only we got digital figures on a regular basis from the companies too, would be interesting to read. Without that we don't have the full picture.

 

[DisturbedSwan]

Interesting that sales have declined so much, guessing it's just the switch to digital but who knows.

 

[Prine]

Really means nothing tbh. I think most Ubi games are downloaded, based on one of their results slide floating around somewhere.

 

[Janus]

Better than Far Cry: New Dawn, but that was the spin off game.

UK Charts - Far Cry New Dawn and Crackdown 3 Significantly Down, Metro ~50% Up Over Last Light (physical), Jump Force Opens Strong

- - - - Top 10 1. Far Cry: New Dawn 2. Metro: Exodus 3. Red Dead Redemption 2 4. Jump Force 5. FIFA 19 6. Resident Evil II 7. New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe 8. Kingdom Hearts III 9. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe 10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Digital is still being worked on. - Source

www.resetera.com

Although Far Cry managed to top the charts, it isn't an especially impressive opening week. The game's launch week sales are 86.5 per cent down over last year's Far Cry 5. Of course, this is a spin-off Far Cry title, and so the comparison isn't overly fair. Yet even compared to 2016's Far Cry Primal (the previous spin-off), sales are a fraction of what we'd typically expect (Far Cry Primal sold almost four times as many units in its first week as New Dawn has).

60 per cent of Far Cry: New Dawn sales came on PS4, 39 per cent on Xbox One, with the rest on PC (physical sales only).

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70% down vs 86.5% down compared to Far Cry 5.

If the rumors are correct, we may see some shake up in the Far Cry series for the next game. But maybe not for the better if they're are going the GAAS route.

 

[DisturbedSwan]

Full UK Chart - Week 40 2021

01 (01) FIFA 22 (EA SPORTS)
02 (NE) FAR CRY 6 (UBISOFT)
03 (NE) METROID DREAD (NINTENDO)
04 (02) MARIO KART 8 DELUXE (NINTENDO)
05 (NE) ALAN WAKE REMASTERED (EPIC GAMES)
06 (05) MINECRAFT (NINTENDO)
07 (07) ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS (NINTENDO)
08 (NE) SUPER MONKEY BALL: BANANA MANIA (SEGA)
09 (10) SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD + BOWSER'S FURY (NINTENDO)
10 (09) GRAND THEFT AUTO V (ROCKSTAR)
11 (04) HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED (MILESTONE)
12 (08) F1 2021 (EA SPORTS)
13 (03) SONIC COLOURS ULTIMATE (SEGA)
14 (06) MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES (SONY COMPUTER ENT.)
15 (18) THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD (NINTENDO)
16 (15) MINECRAFT DUNGEONS (MOJANG)
17 (14) POKEMON SWORD (NINTENDO)
18 (23) LUIGI'S MANSION 3 (NINTENDO)
19 (20) THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SKYWARD SWORD HD (NINTENDO)
20 (28) SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY (NINTENDO)
21 (24) NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U DELUXE (NINTENDO)
22 (16) MARVEL'S AVENGERS (SQUARE ENIX)
23 (27) LEGO HARRY POTTER COLLECTION (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE)
24 (29) SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE (NINTENDO)
25 (22) JUST DANCE 2021 (UBISOFT)
26 (33) PLANTS VS ZOMBIES: BATTLE FOR NEIGHBORVILLE (EA GAMES)
27 (30) ASSASSIN'S CREED VALHALLA (UBISOFT)
28 (17) WARIOWARE: GET IT TOGETHER! (NINTENDO)
29 (26) MARIO GOLF: SUPER RUSH (NINTENDO)
30 (31) RING FIT ADVENTURE (NINTENDO)
31 (32) SUPER MARIO PARTY (NINTENDO)
32 (34) LEGO JURASSIC WORLD (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE)
33 (35) CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS COLD WAR (ACTIVISION)
34 (37) POKEMON SHIELD (NINTENDO)
35 (21) RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 (ROCKSTAR)
36 (RE) NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT - REMASTERED (EA GAMES)
37 (RE) STAR WARS JEDI: FALLEN ORDER (EA GAMES)
38 (25) NBA 2K22 (2K)
39 (RE) LEGO DC SUPER-VILLAINS (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE)
40 (12) DEATHLOOP (BETHESDA SOFTWORKS)

 

[Uzzy]

I think people aren't buying ubisoft games day one because they drop in price faster than Sonic

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Certainly possible, at least from anecdotes (I myself have held off on Ubi games in the past only to pick them up for large discounts a few months later), but without any figures for digital sales it's becoming increasingly hard to say anything definitive about the sales figures.

Unfortunately for digital sales the best we really seem to have are tools like SteamSpy, which is amazingly inaccurate and, obviously, only gives us any data about a subset of PC games, excluding Ubi games for one.

 

[Delusibeta]

We have people happy that FIFA 22 boxed sales are lower than FIFA 21

And with digital, FIFA 22 did better than FIFA 21 lol

Physical sales in 2021 for the big AAA titles are pointless.

Click to shrink...

For context, the physical version of FIFA 22 was down 35% compared to FIFA 21. Which, given that the drop for FC6 is significantly larger, suggests to me even with the higher proportion of digital sales it's still well down compared to FC5.

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

If the rumors are correct, we may see some shake up in the Far Cry series for the next game. But maybe not for the better if they're are going the GAAS route.

Click to shrink...

I'm sure they'll ruin it.

 

[Nintendo]

Better than Far Cry: New Dawn, but that was the spin off game.

UK Charts - Far Cry New Dawn and Crackdown 3 Significantly Down, Metro ~50% Up Over Last Light (physical), Jump Force Opens Strong

- - - - Top 10 1. Far Cry: New Dawn 2. Metro: Exodus 3. Red Dead Redemption 2 4. Jump Force 5. FIFA 19 6. Resident Evil II 7. New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe 8. Kingdom Hearts III 9. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe 10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Digital is still being worked on. - Source

www.resetera.com

70% down vs 86.5% down compared to Far Cry 5.

If the rumors are correct, we may see some shake up in the Far Cry series for the next game. But maybe not for the better if they're are going the GAAS route.

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GaaS is for the better though.

 

[Janus]

GaaS is for the better though.

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Sorry, meant that they may botch a specific GAAS iteration of the Far Cry series. I actually like GAAS games, I'm just wary with Ubi's more recent attempts at GAAS (Hyper Scape). Hoping for the best.

 

[Deleted member 46948]

Apparently 50% of all game sales on PS4/PS5 means nothing now. All these people out here trying to push an anti-physical agenda

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Comparing physical sales of a 2018 and 2021 games is completely pointless. You must see that.

 

[That1GoodHunter]

For context, the physical version of FIFA 22 was down 35% compared to FIFA 21. Which, given that the drop for FC6 is significantly larger, suggests to me even with the higher proportion of digital sales it's still well down compared to FC5.

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Yeah, thats the more interesting tidbit of information from this.

Still does not mean much by itself, these metrics have proven to mean very little.

 

[Spiegel]

For context, the physical version of FIFA 22 was down 35% compared to FIFA 21. Which, given that the drop for FC6 is significantly larger, suggests to me even with the higher proportion of digital sales it's still well down compared to FC5.

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FC6 selling lower than FC5 even with digital sales is highly likely but 2018 vs 2021 is a long time in the context of digital sales.

Far Cry 5 was released 3 and a half years ago (March 2018).
Fifa 22 was down 35% over Fifa 21 (October 2020) but Fifa 21 was down 42% over Fifa 20 (October 2019).

 

[LFMartins86]

Wonder if the fact FIFA 22 is outpacing 21 has anything to do with Konami's terrible release of eFootball.
Seen a few PES fans on Twitter posting photos with copies of FIFA and some PES streamers have moved to FIFA for now.

 

[abellwillring]

Curious - what's the profit margin for the publisher of a game when sold digitally vs physically?

Digital - 30% cut to Sony/MS/Steam, for example.

Physical ... printing, shipping, retail, materials, and presumably still some cut going to Sony/MS/Steam

Just thinking in terms of FIFA... if it's starting to go mostly digital, profits must be soaring right?

Click to shrink...

If the publisher is also the developer, their profit margin is about 50% at most on a physical copy vs the 70% on digital. The console maker is still getting their 30% cut, but you're also sharing some revenue with the retailer (i.e. selling them the copy at a lower than retail price so they can profit also) and then there is the shipping/manufacturing process. It's definitely much better to sell it on digital in every regard as there is no lost revenue due to re-sold copies and your user base is far more likely to keep coming back to a game like FIFA that often has users playing in small chunks of time (i.e. an hour here and there) if they don't have to worry about switching the disc in and out.

 

[cjelly]

FC6 selling lower than FC5 even with digital sales is highly likely but 2018 vs 2021 is a long time in the context of digital sales.

Far Cry 5 was released 3 and a half years ago (March 2018).
Fifa 22 was down 35% over Fifa 21 (October 2020) but Fifa 21 was down 42% over Fifa 20 (October 2019).

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Plus the audience for FIFA is so wide it's a bit an anomaly, really. It will always skew more towards physical than the rest of the market.

 

[Paquete_PT]

For context, the physical version of FIFA 22 was down 35% compared to FIFA 21. Which, given that the drop for FC6 is significantly larger, suggests to me even with the higher proportion of digital sales it's still well down compared to FC5.

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Fifa 21 sold about 40% less than Fifa 20 in the launch week in the UK. A better comparison would be Far Cry 5>6 and Fifa 18>22 to compare the same time period. Fifa gives us a good idea of the downward trend of the physical market.

 

[poklane]

For the past week:




Also just a general suggestion I'd like to make for these UK/PAL Charts threads: just stop with the weekly thread. They've never been that big to begin with and it feels a bit weird to me to have a new thread every single week when they never get many pages anyway.

 

[Templeusox]

Was there ever any monthly charts released for September that included digital?

 

[poklane]

Was there ever any monthly charts released for September that included digital?

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I think those are always released very late, the article for August wasn't released until September 28th https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...-1m-uk-sales-in-record-time-uk-monthly-charts

 

[Templeusox]

I think those are always released very late, the article for August wasn't released until September 28th https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...-1m-uk-sales-in-record-time-uk-monthly-charts

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Thanks!

 

[PJTierney]

Death. Taxes. GTAV in the weekly top 10.

How has the entirety of the UK not owned that game yet? 😅

 

[ILikeFeet]

How has the entirety of the UK not owned that game yet? 😅

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maybe they do

and now they're owning multiple copies