UK Game Sales Surge 26% in March, Driven by Helldivers 2 and Japanese RPGs

The UK gaming market saw a significant increase in sales during March, with a total of 3.65 million games sold across PC and console platforms, representing a 26% rise compared to the same period in 2023. According to GSD data, which tracks physical and digital sales from major publishers, Sony's Helldivers 2 maintained its position as the best-selling game for the second consecutive month. The game's sales are now outpacing those of Spider-Man 2, Sony's previous major release, after eight weeks on the market. This can be attributed to Helldivers 2's lower price point and availability on both PC and console. The game continues to perform well, consistently ranking near the top of the charts. March also saw the release of highly anticipated Japanese RPGs, including Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth and Dragon's Dogma 2. Although Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth was technically released in February, it was still included in the March data. Dragon's Dogma 2 debuted at number three in the monthly chart, narrowly edging out Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, which secured the fifth spot. It's worth noting that Dragon's Dogma 2 had only been on the market for two weeks when the data was compiled. WWE 2K24 also had a strong start, with sales 8% higher than the previous year's game after four weeks. The charts were also dominated by Command & Conquer titles, following the release of a 17-title bundle on Steam in March. Two of the games, Generals and Red Alert 2, made it to the top ten, with ten games in total featuring in the top 20. As a result, new releases such as Rise of Ronin and Princess Peach: Showtime were pushed down the charts. In terms of hardware sales, the UK market saw a decline, with just over 117,000 consoles sold in March, according to GfK panel data. This represents a 22% increase over February but a 15% decrease compared to March last year. The decline can be attributed to the fact that PS5 became widely available last year, causing a significant boost to sales, making this year's comparisons challenging. Additionally, the Nintendo Switch is now in its eighth year on the market, which may be contributing to its decline. PS5 sales were up 25% over February but down 9% compared to March last year, securing its position as the leading console. Nintendo Switch sales increased by 20% month-on-month but decreased by 20% year-on-year, narrowly missing out on the second spot to Xbox Series S and X, which saw a 19% increase over the previous month but an 18% decline year-on-year. The accessories market saw significant growth, with 732,584 units sold in March, representing a 20% increase over February and a 16% rise compared to March last year. The White DualSense controller dropped to third place, while the Midnight Black version jumped to the top spot. The Starlight Blue DualSense controller was the biggest riser, moving up 13 places to sixth. The PlayStation Portal climbed six places to eighth, and the Xbox Astral Purple Controller rose nine places to ninth. The new pink Joy-Cons for Switch debuted at number 52. GfK's games boss, Dorian Bloch, commented on the accessory sales, stating that the controller category is performing well, led by PS5 joypads and particularly by revenue. The Dualsense Edge is the second-best-selling joypad by revenue on PS5, behind the Dualsense White, despite its higher price point of £209 compared to the Dualsense White's £57. Bloch also noted that gaming mice and keyboards have been performing well this year, with Logitech dominating the mice market with products such as the G502, G305, and G203. The top ten mice by revenue are all Logitech products. In terms of keyboards, the Trust GXT-830 and GXT-865, which were on sale during March, and the Logitech G213 are leading the market. Steelseries is also showing impressive revenue growth, with five SKUs performing well, particularly the Apex Pro keyboards. The GSD digital data includes games from participating companies sold via PC digital stores, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Eshop. Major participating companies include Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, Embracer Group, Focus Entertainment, Kepler, Konami, Marvellous Games, Microids, Microsoft, Milestone, Nacon, Paradox Interactive, Quantic Dream, Sega, Sony, Square Enix, Take-Two, Tencent, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Notable absentees include Nintendo and 505 Games, as well as smaller studios.