European Video Game Sales Experience 7% Decline in January

According to recent data, the European video game market witnessed a decline of 7.3% in January, with 12.14 million games sold across the region. The data encompasses both physical and digital sales from major publishers, with the notable exception of Nintendo. EA Sports FC 24 emerged as the top-selling game, with January sales mirroring those of FIFA 23 during the same period in 2023. The best-selling new game of the month was The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered, which outperformed The Last of Us: Part 1 by more than two and a half times. The game's success can be attributed to an upgrade offer for PS4 owners and the growing PS5 install base. Tekken 8 debuted at number 7, with sales exceeding those of Street Fighter 6 by over 80%. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice also saw a significant surge in sales, thanks to a discount on Steam, and re-entered the top ten at number 8. Ubisoft's new Prince of Persia game, The Lost Crown, debuted at number 9. In the console hardware market, sales reached nearly 475,000 units in January, representing a slight decline of 1.4% compared to the previous year. Strong PS5 sales were offset by a decline in Nintendo Switch sales, which is approaching its seventh anniversary and is expected to be succeeded by a new console this year. Additionally, Xbox Series S and X sales experienced a slight dip. The sales of peripherals and accessories also declined by 1.4% in January, with 1.8 million units sold. The data includes digital sales from participating companies, such as Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, and Electronic Arts, and covers games sold in various European countries. Physical data includes all games sold in select European countries, while console hardware sales cover a range of markets, excluding the UK and Germany.