UK Black Friday Sees Nintendo Switch as Top-Selling Console

According to GfK Entertainment, the Nintendo Switch emerged as the best-selling gaming console in the UK during Black Friday. The console accounted for 42% of all console sales during the week, largely due to the return of last year's Black Friday bundle, which included a Switch Neon console, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, and a three-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. However, Nintendo's performance was weaker compared to the previous year, as Xbox posed strong competition with an aggressive offer. Microsoft reduced the price of its Xbox Series S console to under £200 during Black Friday, resulting in a 40% share of console sales. The PS5, which received minor discounts on its digital edition, accounted for 18% of sales. GfK boss Dorian Bloch noted that while console sales were similar to last year, overall Switch sales were significantly lower due to competitive offers from Sony and Microsoft. All three consoles experienced their strongest sales weeks of the year during Black Friday. The overall Black Friday sales, including physical games, accessories, and consoles, saw a 4% increase from last year, making it the eighth largest Black Friday in the UK. The weakest Black Friday was in 2020, following the launches of the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S. Bloch added that the biggest Black Friday week on record was in 2013, coinciding with the PS4 launch. The revenue split during Black Friday 2022 was 41% for consoles, 39% for accessories, and 21% for physical games, with the latter being the smallest share to date. Online retailers accounted for 81% of sales, the second-highest share, with the largest online share occurring during Black Friday 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdown. In accessories, VR performed exceptionally well, driven by the Meta Quest 2 bundle with Resident Evil 4, achieving the highest VR revenue and fifth-highest unit sales in the UK. Controllers remained the second-best-selling gaming accessory, driven by Microsoft's controller deals and strong hardware sales, making it the best controller week since Black Friday 2019.