UK Gaming Market Sees Boost from Special Edition Zelda Console

The UK gaming market experienced a challenging April, with decreased sales in both games and hardware. According to GfK figures, approximately 111,000 consoles were sold in the UK during the month, representing a 20% decline from March but a 20% increase compared to April last year. The PS5 maintained its position as the top-selling console, followed closely by the Nintendo Switch and then the Xbox Series S and X. While PS5 sales dropped 35% from March, they increased 15% compared to April last year. Meanwhile, Xbox Series S and X sales decreased 32% from March but rose 8% compared to the same period the previous year. However, the Nintendo Switch emerged as the month's biggest winner, with sales increasing 26% from March and 30% from April 2022. This surge was largely attributed to the new Zelda edition console, which was released at the end of the month and accounted for 29% of all Switch consoles sold. In terms of video game sales, 2.2 million PC and console titles were sold in the UK last month, marking an 8% decline from April last year, based on GSD data. This data encompasses all physical game sales, as well as digital sales from major AAA publishers, excluding Nintendo. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor comfortably took the top spot, achieving a strong launch with sales up 31% compared to its 2019 predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Notably, digital sales accounted for 66% of Survivor's total sales, compared to 36% for Fallen Order, highlighting the acceleration of digital sales in the post-pandemic era. Dead Island 2 secured the second spot with a strong launch, although historical data is limited for comparison with the original 2011 release. Despite their impressive launches, these two titles failed to match the sales of last year's major April release, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Additionally, nearly 487,000 accessories and add-on products were sold in the UK last month, according to GfK data, representing a 21% decline from March and a 6% decline from April 2022. The PS5 White DualSense controller reclaimed the top spot after a month's absence, while the Xbox Wireless Controller Carbon Black dropped to third place. The UK GSD April 2023 Top 10 (Digital + Physical) ranking is as follows: 1. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (EA), 2. Dead Island 2 (Deep Silver), 3. FIFA 23 (EA), 4. Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar), 5. Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros), 6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Blizzard), 7. Resident Evil 4 Remake (Capcom), 8. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar), 9. WWE 2K23 (2K Games), and 10. NBA 2K23 (2K Games). Note that digital data is unavailable for some titles. The GSD digital data includes sales from participating companies via Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Eshop, with major participants including Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, and others, while Nintendo and 505 Games are notable absentees.