Splatoon Series Achieves Its First UK Number One

Splatoon 3 has debuted at the top of the UK boxed charts, marking the first time a game in the series has reached number one. The original 2015 game and its 2017 sequel both peaked at number two. The latest game's launch sales are 9% lower than its predecessor, although this figure only accounts for physical sales. As an online-focused game, Splatoon 3 may have performed better through digital sales on the Nintendo eShop. According to GfK's Dorian Bloch, the first two Splatoon games were held off from the top spot by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, respectively. Bloch notes that Splatoon 3 is the 21st best-selling game on Switch in terms of week one sales, just behind Splatoon 2. The Last of Us: Part 1 has dropped to number four after a 66% sales decline, while NBA 2K23 has debuted at number six with 29% lower physical sales than its predecessor.