European Gaming Market Sees PS5 Sales Surge 200% in January

Last month, 12.1 million games were sold across Europe, representing a 19% decline from the same period the previous year, according to GSD market data, which tracks physical and digital game sales in major European markets. For more information, see the full details at the end of the article. The significant drop in sales can be attributed to the absence of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a massive hit in January of the previous year, with no comparable game released in 2023. However, it was a successful month for FIFA, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Red Dead Redemption 2, all of which saw improvements over the previous year. Conversely, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe experienced a sharp decline in sales, falling 37% compared to the previous year. The charts also saw the introduction of new titles, including EA's Dead Space remake, which debuted at number six. Notably, The Callisto Protocol, a similar game developed by some of the original Dead Space creators, performed better in its first two weeks, despite not including digital sales. Other new releases in the charts include several Japanese-centric games, a common trend for this time of year, such as the PS5 game Forspoken, Nintendo's Fire Emblem Engage, and Bandai Namco's One Piece Odyssey. There was a significant improvement in PS5 stock across Europe, with console sales reaching 493,000 units in tracked European markets, excluding the UK and Germany. This represents a 15.5% increase over the previous January, largely driven by a substantial 202% rise in PS5 sales. The PS5 was the top-selling console for the month, followed by the Nintendo Switch, which saw an 11% decline in sales, and the Xbox Series X and S, which experienced a 32% decline. In terms of accessories, 1.76 million add-on products were sold, a 2.1% decrease from the previous month, with the PS5 DualSense controller being the best-selling accessory. Additionally, 1.37 million points and subscription cards were sold, representing a 4% decline from January 2022. The GSD digital data encompasses games from participating companies sold via various platforms, including Steam, Xbox Live, and the PlayStation Network, and includes major companies such as Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft. The data covers digital sales in multiple European countries, while physical data includes sales from a smaller set of countries. Console hardware sales are also tracked in several European markets.