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[yazenov]

2023 UK game sales "holding the fort" compared to 2022, but still show signs of growth

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox 2024 so far has been challenging in the in…

www.gamesindustry.biz

With the complete set of UK retail and GSD tracked digital data in for 2023, we can reflect on some good news that the year turned out quite positive:

• Combined physical and dsgital unit sales for 2023 was 3% higher compared to 2022.
• Average price increases in new games increased by 14% between 2021 to 2023.
• Unit sales for digital full games continues to grow as a share of the total UK market, but the transition to digital has slowed down.

When it came to video game spending in the UK during 2023, unfavourable economic headwinds did not dampen spending when it came to full video games.

This is from the article above. Physical only declined -2% from last year, while Digital increased by +8% which indicated that the overall market showed growth in spending / Game prices increase.

This chart is a good apple-to-apples comparison of physical and digital software for full games only. In contrast to some "industry experts" who include everything under the sun such as mobile, subscriptions, VR, DLC, and Microtractasions to skew the narrative in whatever directing they want.

62% Digital to 38% physical. I don't think any sane person would say that nearly 40% of the market is irrelevant.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

People who think physical will go away on PS and Nintendo systems are sorely mistaken.

If there's a place for physical media like Vinyl then there surely will be a place for physical games as well for many more years to come.

 

[yazenov]

People who think physical will go away on PS and Nintendo systems are sorely mistaken.

It's going away for Xbox, therefore Sony and Nintendo too.™

 

[keraj37]

We physical game collectors are comfortable knowing we really own our games.

 

[Fake]

But uncle Mat said we are dommed.

 

[demigod]

2023 UK game sales "holding the fort" compared to 2022, but still show signs of growth

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox 2024 so far has been challenging in the in…

www.gamesindustry.biz

This is from the article above. Physical only declined -2% from last year, while Digital increased by +8% which indicated that the overall market showed growth in spending / Game prices increase.

This chart is a good apple-to-apples comparison of physical and digital software for full games only. In contrast to some "industry experts" who include everything under the sun such as mobile, subscriptions, VR, DLC, and Microtractasions to skew the narrative in whatever directing they want.

62% Digital to 38% physical. I don't think any sane person would say that nearly 40% of the market is irrelevant.

The digital is higher because it counts PC. Still not apples to apples.

 

[yazenov]

The digital is higher because it counts PC. Still not apples to apples.

Yeah If you account for consoles only, the physical ratio would be much closer to the digital.

 

[acm2000]

what percentage of those physical sales are Switch is what i want to know.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

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Basically every new release is like this, which is one of the reasons I buy physical games. Along with the ability to lend the game, sell the game and have the game in your collection to oggle at.

 

[Woopah]

It's a really interesting article overall, recommended reading the full thing. Even though it lacks digital numbers, you can clearly see the effect TOTK had on industry growth.

what percentage of those physical sales are Switch is what i want to know.

A large proportion, but not an overwhelming one. Spiderman 2, Call of Duty and Jedi Survivor all made the physical top 10 without Switch versions.

 

[rofif]

People who think physical will go away on PS and Nintendo systems are sorely mistaken.

If there's a place for physical media like Vinyl then there surely will be a place for physical games as well for many more years to come.

The insomniac leak literally just shows that ps first party games sell 60-70% at launch on disc. That’s majority of sales.
People want to own the game somewhat.

 

[rofif]

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Basically every new release is like this, which is one of the reasons I buy physical games. Along with the ability to lend the game, sell the game and have the game in your collection to oggle at.

Yep. I’ve not paid full 70-80(in Poland) for a new ps5 game since demons souls on release. Small Retailers always fight over better disc deals and pre order bonuses and so on. Usually it ends up being 60 with delivery instead of 70. And You get to own the game, play 1.0 if I want, get all the crap in the box like map or postcards at times. For cheaper.
Hard to pass on that

 

[rofif]

The digital is higher because it counts PC. Still not apples to apples.

Exactly. These counts are never fair.
Of course digital is higher if you include games that are only on digital or on pc.
The real test is same games digital va physical on release. And we know Sony games sell more on disc in this situation

 

[yazenov]

The insomniac leak literally just shows that ps first party games sell 60-70% at launch on disc. That’s majority of sales.
People want to own the game somewhat.

Software Charts UK

Top 30 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, PC and Xbox platforms)

For Sony:

• Spider-Man 2 : 46.4% Digital
• God of War Ragnarok: 24.3% Digital
• The Last of US Part 2: 52% Digital

*Digital sales not included

Rank	Prior Year	Title	Publisher	Sales	Total	% Digital (2023)
1	NEW	EA Sports FC 24	Electronic Arts	2,395,996	-	67,2%
2	NEW	Hogwarts Legacy	Warner Bros. Games	1,921,143	-	55,9%
3	NEW	Call of Duty: Madern Warfare III (2023)	Activision Blizzard	1,238,683	-	68,7%
4	1	FIFA 23	Electronic Arts	747,902	3,278,412	61,7%
5	NEW	Marvel's Spider-Man 2	Sony	654,731	-	46,4%
6	5	Grand Theft Auto V^	Take-Two Interactive	615,677	11,200,000+	71,0%
7	NEW	Star Wars: Jed: Survivor	Electronic Arts	553,323	-	60,5%
8	NEW	The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom*	Nintendo	498,159	-	0,0%
9	NEW	Diablo IV	Activision Blizzard	442,874	-	84,7%
10	NEW	Super Mario Bros. Wonder*	Nintendo	429,686	-	0,0%
11	13	Red Dead Redemption II^	Take-Two Interactive	411,725	3,662,744	83,3%
12	2	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)^^	Activision Blizzard	378,638	2,053,961	65,5%
13	9	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*	Nintendo	357,889	3,077,453	0,0%
14	NEW	Assassin's Creed: Mirage	Ubisoft	352,228	-	51,3%
15	NEW	Resident Evil 4 (2023)	Capcom	321,117	-	54,9%
16	6	God of War: Ragnarok	Sony	261,303	931,920	24,3%
17	4	Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga	Warner Bros. Games	254,623	1,071,922	36,8%
18	NEW	F1 23	Electronic Arts	248,997	-	75,1%
19	-	NBA 2K 23	Take-Two Interactive	246,154	???	87,1%
20	18	Minecraft [Nintendo Switch]**	Microsoft	245,913	1,200,000+	20,5%
21	-	Grand Theft Auto Online	Take-Two Interactive	237,307	???	100,0%
22	-	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege	Ubisoft	229,728	???	100,0%
23	NEW	WWE 2K23	Take-Two Interactive	220,000	-	64,0%
24	11	Nintendo Switch Sports*	Nintendo	209,696	570,105	0,0%
25	NEW	Dead Island 2	Plaion	200,000	-	67,0%
26	-	The Last of Us: Part II	Sony	180,000	???	52,0%
27	19	Animal Crossing: New Horizons*	Nintendo	148,996	1,627,214	0,0%
28	3	Elden Ring	Bandai Namco Entertainment	145,000	1,010,000	-
29	-	Dead Space (2023)	Electronic Arts	143,000	-	-
30	-	Mortal Kombat 1	Warner Bros. Games	143,000	-	-

 

[adamsapple]

Physical had a minor decline, but digital had a notable increase and digital is still more than 3rd of the total sales.

I mean, that doesn't exactly scream confidence in physical for long either.

But as long as gamefly continues to exist, I'm happy.

 

[TheGrat1]

2023 UK game sales "holding the fort" compared to 2022, but still show signs of growth

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox 2024 so far has been challenging in the in…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Physical forever.

 

[mckmas8808]

Physical had a minor decline, but digital had a notable increase and digital is still more than 3rd of the total sales.

I mean, that doesn't exactly scream confidence in digital for long either.

But as long as gamefly continues to exist, I'm happy.

Huh? What?!

 

[adamsapple]

Huh? What?!

Whoops, meant to say Physical. Good catch.

 

[willothedog]

What is the revenue ratio for physical:digital for the corporations? I remember seeing a breakdown of costs incurred for physical releases but cannot find it.

 

[mckmas8808]

Whoops, meant to say Physical. Good catch.

38% when including PC game sales. If you take PC game sales away and only do consoles, it would have been in the mid to upper 40s percent. How is that a bad thing?

 

[Three]

It's so obvious that there is a push towards digital that isn't coming from the consumer but those interested in pushing it for their own gain and eliminating second hand sales. From the article regarding some big releases:

Other factors include whether one is investigating games that released on the digital format only (such as Alan Wake 2) or whether games got an early digital release compared to their physical disc counterpart (such as EA Sports FC 24 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3). All these factors can contribute to favour the digital format away from physical disc sales.

They're trying to drive digital by making it unnecessarily prohibitive to choose physical with the biggest games. This did not happen in the past and there is no reason for it to happen now other than greed. Next some will remove the ability entirely on their console and analysts like Mat will pretend that consumers chose this and the companies were just "following trends" when they're actually trying to create the trends for that adorably digital future.

 

[adamsapple]

38% when including PC game sales. If you take PC game sales away and only do consoles, it would have been in the mid to upper 40s percent. How is that a bad thing?

Not saying bad, just that the trend towards increasing digital is pretty clear whether we like it or not.

 

[Woopah]

Software Charts UK

Top 30 Games (Physical and Full Game Digital from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, PC and Xbox platforms)

For Sony:

• Spider-Man 2 : 46.4% Digital
• God of War Ragnarok: 24.3% Digital
• The Last of US Part 2: 52% Digital

*Digital sales not included

Rank	Prior Year	Title	Publisher	Sales	Total	% Digital (2023)
1	NEW	EA Sports FC 24	Electronic Arts	2,395,996	-	67,2%
2	NEW	Hogwarts Legacy	Warner Bros. Games	1,921,143	-	55,9%
3	NEW	Call of Duty: Madern Warfare III (2023)	Activision Blizzard	1,238,683	-	68,7%
4	1	FIFA 23	Electronic Arts	747,902	3,278,412	61,7%
5	NEW	Marvel's Spider-Man 2	Sony	654,731	-	46,4%
6	5	Grand Theft Auto V^	Take-Two Interactive	615,677	11,200,000+	71,0%
7	NEW	Star Wars: Jed: Survivor	Electronic Arts	553,323	-	60,5%
8	NEW	The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom*	Nintendo	498,159	-	0,0%
9	NEW	Diablo IV	Activision Blizzard	442,874	-	84,7%
10	NEW	Super Mario Bros. Wonder*	Nintendo	429,686	-	0,0%
11	13	Red Dead Redemption II^	Take-Two Interactive	411,725	3,662,744	83,3%
12	2	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)^^	Activision Blizzard	378,638	2,053,961	65,5%
13	9	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*	Nintendo	357,889	3,077,453	0,0%
14	NEW	Assassin's Creed: Mirage	Ubisoft	352,228	-	51,3%
15	NEW	Resident Evil 4 (2023)	Capcom	321,117	-	54,9%
16	6	God of War: Ragnarok	Sony	261,303	931,920	24,3%
17	4	Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga	Warner Bros. Games	254,623	1,071,922	36,8%
18	NEW	F1 23	Electronic Arts	248,997	-	75,1%
19	-	NBA 2K 23	Take-Two Interactive	246,154	???	87,1%
20	18	Minecraft [Nintendo Switch]**	Microsoft	245,913	1,200,000+	20,5%
21	-	Grand Theft Auto Online	Take-Two Interactive	237,307	???	100,0%
22	-	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege	Ubisoft	229,728	???	100,0%
23	NEW	WWE 2K23	Take-Two Interactive	220,000	-	64,0%
24	11	Nintendo Switch Sports*	Nintendo	209,696	570,105	0,0%
25	NEW	Dead Island 2	Plaion	200,000	-	67,0%
26	-	The Last of Us: Part II	Sony	180,000	???	52,0%
27	19	Animal Crossing: New Horizons*	Nintendo	148,996	1,627,214	0,0%
28	3	Elden Ring	Bandai Namco Entertainment	145,000	1,010,000	-
29	-	Dead Space (2023)	Electronic Arts	143,000	-	-
30	-	Mortal Kombat 1	Warner Bros. Games	143,000	-	-

Due to the Insomniac leak we now the global split between digital and physical shipments for similar games:

Spider-Man Miles Morales: 34% Digital
God of War: 34% Digital
The Last of US Part 2: 39% Digital

This and other data suggests that UK has higher digital console splits than elsewhere.

 

[Kumomeme]

b..but whatever applied to xbox should be same to sony and nintendo!

 

[Dr. Claus]

People who think physical will go away on PS and Nintendo systems are sorely mistaken.

If there's a place for physical media like Vinyl then there surely will be a place for physical games as well for many more years to come.

Yep. Just sad little console/platform warriors trying desperately to push that the failures of their favorite plastic box is the "right move" for the industry.

 

[ZehDon]

Moving to favour digital is favourable to the industry, not the customers. Whether we want it or not, it's going that way. It's just another way to increase profit margins, which continues the industry's illusion of growth. Xbox has been actively attempting kill physical media for a while, but Sony stepping out with the PS5 DE this gen is a good indication that they're interested in pushing up digital adoption rates. I imagine physical drives being optional "extras" will be one way for Sony/Xbox to "lower" the sticker price for their next gen consoles, while also pushing as many people as possible to digital. Nintendo, on the other hand, seems to despise the Information Super Highway, so there's a good chance they'll keep making physical until the heat death of the universe.

 

[mckmas8808]

Due to the Insomniac leak we now the global split between digital and physical shipments for similar games:

Spider-Man Miles Morales: 34% Digital
God of War: 34% Digital
The Last of US Part 2: 39% Digital

This and other data suggests that UK has higher digital console splits than elsewhere.

You have to wonder why Target are giving up selling physical media in stores and online when you see numbers like this.

 

[The artful mincer]

FF7 Rebirth - £53.49 with free delivery.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (PS5)

Check out this product and more at Hit

www.hit.co.uk

vs

£69.99

FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH

The Unknown Journey Continues

store.playstation.com

Basically every new release is like this, which is one of the reasons I buy physical games. Along with the ability to lend the game, sell the game and have the game in your collection to oggle at.

This.

Not to mention physical is the only way to play a game and financially hurt a publisher for whatever reason.

If I dislike a game I feel obliged to put it out into the used market.

If I like a game I try to keep hold of it as long as possible.

 

[Three]

You have to wonder why Target are giving up selling physical media in stores and online when you see numbers like this.

They're probably not doing it with games. The rumours are mostly swirling about movies and music.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

This.

Not to mention physical is the only way to play a game and financially hurt a publisher for whatever reason.

If I dislike a game I feel obliged to put it out into the used market.

If I like a game I try to keep hold of it as long as possible.

Precisely. There are many reasons why we shouldn't let the industry take away the choice of buying physical games.

Seeing comments GAF wanting a digital only industry is baffling and short sighted.