Helldivers 2 drives UK March sport gross sales up 26% | UK Month-to-month Charts – GamesIndustry.biz

Dragons Dogma 2 and Ultimate Fantasy VII: Rebirth additionally carry out strongly, whereas {hardware} gross sales proceed to fall
3.65 million PC and console video games had been bought throughout the UK throughout March, a powerful rise of 26% over the identical interval in 2023.
GSD knowledge, which tracks all bodily gross sales and digital gross sales from most main publishers, reveals that for a second consecutive month, Sony’s Helldivers 2 was the best-selling online game.
After eight weeks, the sport’s gross sales at the moment are trending forward of the place Spider-Man 2 (Sony’s final huge launch) was after the identical size of time. They’re, in fact, very totally different video games, with Spider-Man 2 retailing at £70 and solely releasing on PS5. Helldivers 2 has a lower cost and can also be out there on PC.
Evidently, the brand new sport is displaying spectacular legs and continues to put close to the highest of the charts every week.
It was the battle of the Japanese RPGs throughout March with Ultimate Fantasy VII: Rebirth (technically launched in February, however a part of the March knowledge) and Dragon’s Dogma 2 each coming to market. The outcome? A slender success for Dragon’s Dogma 2, which debuts at No.3 on this month’s chart, whereas Ultimate Fantasy VII Rebirth is available in at No.5. There is not an enormous quantity in it, but it surely’s value noting that Dragon’s Dogma 2 had solely been available on the market for 2 weeks when this knowledge was counted.
Sandwiched between the 2 RPGs is WWE 2K24, which has had a stronger begin to life than final 12 months’s sport. After 4 weeks, 2K24’s gross sales are 8% increased than what 2K23 managed.
Completely flooding the charts this week are Command & Conquer titles, which was a part of a 17-title bundle launched on Steam throughout March. Two of the video games (Generals and Pink Alert 2) make the High Ten, with ten video games in complete within the High 20.
In consequence, new releases like Rise of Ronin (No.21) and Princess Peach: Showtime (No.30) are decrease down the charts than they might have been.
Video games {hardware} continues to fall year-on-year
In the meantime, simply over 117,000 video games consoles had been bought within the UK throughout March, GfK panel knowledge exhibits.
It is a rise of twenty-two% over February, however down 15% over March final 12 months.
As we have stated in earlier months, PS5 turned absolutely out there this time final 12 months, which prompted a major enhance to gross sales, so comparisons this 12 months had been all the time more likely to be powerful. We’re additionally into the eighth 12 months available on the market for Nintendo Change, which is beginning to present its age.
PS5 gross sales are up 25% over February, however down 9% over March final 12 months. Sony’s console is comfortably No.1 for the month.
Nintendo Change gross sales are up 20% month-on-month, however down 20% year-on-year. Whereas narrowly lacking out on second place is Xbox Sequence S and X, which is up 19% over the month earlier than, however down 18% year-on-year.
Elsewhere, 732,584 equipment had been bought within the UK throughout March, which is up 20% over February and up 16% over March final 12 months. The White DualSense controller drops to No.3, whereas the Midnight Black model leaps to the highest. The Starlight Blue DualSense controller is the largest riser of the month, up 13 locations to No.6. The PlayStation Portal is up six locations to No.8, and the Xbox Astral Purple Controller jumps 9 locations to No.9.
The brand new pink Pleasure-Cons for Change, launched to coincide with Nintendo’s Princess Peach Showtime sport, debut at No.52.
Talking to GamesIndustry.biz, GfK video games boss Dorian Bloch went deeper on the gross sales of equipment this month.
“Controller class is de facto shifting this 12 months up to now, led by PS5 joypads and particularly by income,” he tells us. “The Dualsense Edge is the No.2 Joypad by income on PS5, simply behind the Dualsense White. Clearly, the Edge doesn’t promote in the identical huge portions because the Dualsense White, however we’re speaking a product that’s £57 vs a product at £209.”
Bloch provides that gaming mice and keyboards have been doing rather well this 12 months. The Mice market is dominated by Logitech merchandise such because the G502, G305 and G203.
“And by income Logitech is stealing the present, Bloch says. “The High 10 Mice by income this 12 months are all Logitech.
By way of keyboards, issues are led by the Belief GXT-830 and GXT-865 (each of which had been on sale throughout March), and the Logitech G213. Steelseries is displaying spectacular income progress, Bloch tells us, with 5 SKUs performing effectively, notably the Apex Professional keyboards.
GSD digital knowledge consists of video games from collaborating corporations bought by way of PC digital shops, Xbox Stay, PlayStation Community, Nintendo Eshop. Main collaborating corporations are Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Codemasters, Digital Arts, Embracer Group (together with Gearbox, Koch Media, Sabre Interactive), Focus Leisure, Kepler, Konami, Marvellous Video games, Microids, Microsoft (together with Bethesda), Milestone, Nacon, Paradox Interactive, Quantic Dream, Sega, Sony, Sq. Enix, Take-Two, Tencent, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Nintendo and 505 Video games are the notable absentees, alongside smaller studios.
Christopher Dring
Head of Video games B2B
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