UK Boxed Charts: Final Fantasy 16 Secures Fifth Largest Launch of 2023

Final Fantasy 16 has successfully debuted at the top of the UK boxed charts, marking a notable achievement for the iconic franchise. However, its physical sales are significantly lower than those of Final Fantasy 15, released in 2016, with a 74% decline. This disparity can be attributed to the fact that Final Fantasy 16 is exclusive to the PS5, whereas its predecessor was available on both PS4 and Xbox One. Furthermore, the PS4 had a larger install base at the time of Final Fantasy 15's release compared to the current PS5 install base. The main reason for this decline is the rapid growth of digital sales since 2016. Once digital data is included, the difference in sales between the two games will be less pronounced. Final Fantasy 16 is currently the fifth fastest-selling boxed game of the year, following closely behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and the remake of Resident Evil 4. The arrival of Final Fantasy 16 has led to a 35% decline in sales for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which has dropped to second place. Other new releases include Sonic Origins Plus, which debuted at number three, with the majority of its sales coming from the Switch. Additionally, Aliens: Dark Descent and Crash Team Rumble have entered the charts at numbers 11 and 15, respectively. In terms of recent titles, F1 2023 has experienced a 51% decline in sales, while Street Fighter 6 has fallen out of the top ten with a 36% drop. Diablo 4 has also seen a 37% decline in sales. On the other hand, Forspoken, another PS5 exclusive from Square Enix, has seen a 46% increase in sales, marking its third consecutive week of sales growth.