Circana July 2025: #1 College Football #2 EA Sports MVP Bundle #3 Donkey Kong Bananza ; Switch 2 LTD ~2.08M (~480K in July), PS5 #2 Units + Rev

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The game was widely given out Plus and in the Epic store. Hard to argue it's that niche when it racked up over 16 million players.
DS1 did not sell well. I could care less that 16 million people tried it because it was given to them or was avaliable on GP. Clearly they didn't like it because the second one continued to sell pretty much the same as the first one.

Having a high player count is a nice stat but it means nothing if it doesn't translate to sells.

It's crazy that I even have to argue that the gameplay for DS is niche to begin with.
 
It's funny to see Mario Kart World below Mario Kart 8 in physical sales haha.

Happy to see strong launches for Tony Hawk, DK and Grounded 2.

Last year had the rebirth of College Football, which was current gen exclusive. PS5 went up 25% and Xbox Series went up 48%. This year's College Football didn't have that effect.

Most of MK World's American sales have been through the the bundle, and Circana doesn't count bundle sales for games. That's on top of Nintendo basically never providing digital (otherwise if they did for this month for example, DK Bananza would very likely be #2 for the month).

I'm seeing people talk about DS2; IMO it's definitely underperformed in comparison to the 1st game and the gameplay isn't as niche as some are trying to imply. There's still a combat loop, there are weapons to upgrade, the game has an open world to explore, it has a multiplayer component etc. Those things aren't niche.

I think with DS2 there's a big chunk just waiting for the inevitable PC port to buy it on Steam; after all the 1st got ported in 6 months, most people are probably expecting the same. Also now that the first game is on Xbox there is a contingent of people expecting DS2 to show up there, Game Pass or not. So, they will just wait for the port as well, which likely won't take as long as it did with the first game.

Honestly, DS2 might be a clear sign this whole FOMO strategy isn't gonna work long-term, when people have more games to play than ever, including tons of big GAAS titles with regular updates. More & more people are well good just waiting for a port, and SIE set a precedent for PC gamers to expect all their games this gen given their porting cadence. They'd have to go several years with no ports (for non-GAAS titles) to reset expectations, and I don't see them doing that.

so... death stranding bomb?

Not bomba, but def underperformed...ba

It's definitely Everybody's Golf tier, a 3-4M range series while Death Stranding sold 4.3M units on PS4 in a bit over two years (and months after a permanent price cut to $40). The concern trolling is cute for a little bit, but let's not pretend otherwise.

How is the Death Stranding IP in Everybody's Golf tier of niche? Are we only going by sales?

Like others already said, it has ALL the hallmarks of cinematic single-player third-person story-driven AAA games that should appeal to many PS fans who like SIE's games in that same mold. It has a Hollywood cast rivaling or bettering Horizon Forbidden West's or God of War Ragnarok's. And like I said earlier in this very post, various similar game design elements too (combat loop, upgrade system, open world etc.).

On face value, DS2 is basically as close as you can get to a SIE AAA cinematic game without being one. Okay, maybe it's a couple degrees removed from something like GTA or RDR, but it's still much more similar to them than an Everybody's Golf. So it's natural to assume the game would be selling higher than the original launch-aligned, or at least doing par. Instead it's underperforming in virtually every region.

We can get into why it's underperforming (I gave my reasons above), but it underperforming is a fact at this point. It just is.

It used to be relevant but nowadays it's extremely niche. The audience that bought them have aged out of gaming. It's going to sell less than Astrobot despite being multiplatform, even after multiple years at deep discounts across multiple storefronts. I wish that wasn't the case.

Switch gamers might actually show up for it pretty hard. There hasn't been a new Mario Golf in a while, and stylistically Everybody's Golf should appeal to that audience.

It just lacks the Nintendo characters, but I almost think Bandai-Namco and SIE could work out a deal with Mario-themed costumes for the characters. Of course, that content'd be exclusive to the Switch version, and they'd be at Nintendo's mercy (almost guaranteed there's be a new Mario Golf for Switch 2 sometime in the future).

Granted, I don't know how much the Mario Golf games tend to sell, and I'm not saying Everybody's Golf would suddenly approach those numbers with just Mario-themed costumes or items. But I do think it'd probably give an uptick , and Nintendo gamers wanting a cartoonish golf game to tide them over until Mario Golf proper arrives could be a big pull.
 
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I'm seeing people talk about DS2; IMO it's definitely underperformed in comparison to the 1st game and the gameplay isn't as niche as some are trying to imply. There's still a combat loop, there are weapons to upgrade, the game has an open world to explore, it has a multiplayer component etc. Those things aren't niche.
Also the fact DS uses high profile Hollywood celebrities……it can't be THAT niche especially compare to actual niche games from Vanillaware and Falcom.
 
Death Stranding 2 still MIA on the top 20 of the year.

If You Say So Wow GIF by Identity
This is insane! How come a population that had suffered the traumatic experience of a worldwide pandemic and the subsequent impoverishment, where the youngsters are surviving working for Uber Eats, don't want to play in a worldwide catastrophe scenario where the action is that you play as an Uber Eats employee????
 
Most of MK World's American sales have been through the the bundle, and Circana doesn't count bundle sales for games. That's on top of Nintendo basically never providing digital (otherwise if they did for this month for example, DK Bananza would very likely be #2 for the month).

I'm seeing people talk about DS2; IMO it's definitely underperformed in comparison to the 1st game and the gameplay isn't as niche as some are trying to imply. There's still a combat loop, there are weapons to upgrade, the game has an open world to explore, it has a multiplayer component etc. Those things aren't niche.

I think with DS2 there's a big chunk just waiting for the inevitable PC port to buy it on Steam; after all the 1st got ported in 6 months, most people are probably expecting the same. Also now that the first game is on Xbox there is a contingent of people expecting DS2 to show up there, Game Pass or not. So, they will just wait for the port as well, which likely won't take as long as it did with the first game.

Honestly, DS2 might be a clear sign this whole FOMO strategy isn't gonna work long-term, when people have more games to play than ever, including tons of big GAAS titles with regular updates. More & more people are well good just waiting for a port, and SIE set a precedent for PC gamers to expect all their games this gen given their porting cadence. They'd have to go several years with no ports (for non-GAAS titles) to reset expectations, and I don't see them doing that.



Not bomba, but def underperformed...ba



How is the Death Stranding IP in Everybody's Golf tier of niche? Are we only going by sales?

Like others already said, it has ALL the hallmarks of cinematic single-player third-person story-driven AAA games that should appeal to many PS fans who like SIE's games in that same mold. It has a Hollywood cast rivaling or bettering Horizon Forbidden West's or God of War Ragnarok's. And like I said earlier in this very post, various similar game design elements too (combat loop, upgrade system, open world etc.).

On face value, DS2 is basically as close as you can get to a SIE AAA cinematic game without being one. Okay, maybe it's a couple degrees removed from something like GTA or RDR, but it's still much more similar to them than an Everybody's Golf. So it's natural to assume the game would be selling higher than the original launch-aligned, or at least doing par. Instead it's underperforming in virtually every region.

We can get into why it's underperforming (I gave my reasons above), but it underperforming is a fact at this point. It just is.



Switch gamers might actually show up for it pretty hard. There hasn't been a new Mario Golf in a while, and stylistically Everybody's Golf should appeal to that audience.

It just lacks the Nintendo characters, but I almost think Bandai-Namco and SIE could work out a deal with Mario-themed costumes for the characters. Of course, that content'd be exclusive to the Switch version, and they'd be at Nintendo's mercy (almost guaranteed there's be a new Mario Golf for Switch 2 sometime in the future).

Granted, I don't know how much the Mario Golf games tend to sell, and I'm not saying Everybody's Golf would suddenly approach those numbers with just Mario-themed costumes or items. But I do think it'd probably give an uptick , and Nintendo gamers wanting a cartoonish golf game to tide them over until Mario Golf proper arrives could be a big pull.
If there is any game which proves how dumb Sony's multiplatform first party "strategy" is, it's DS2. Turns out expanding to other platforms doesn't really increase game sales. It mostly just bleeds users to the competition.
 
Most of MK World's American sales have been through the the bundle, and Circana doesn't count bundle sales for games. That's on top of Nintendo basically never providing digital (otherwise if they did for this month for example, DK Bananza would very likely be #2 for the month).

I'm seeing people talk about DS2; IMO it's definitely underperformed in comparison to the 1st game and the gameplay isn't as niche as some are trying to imply. There's still a combat loop, there are weapons to upgrade, the game has an open world to explore, it has a multiplayer component etc. Those things aren't niche.

I think with DS2 there's a big chunk just waiting for the inevitable PC port to buy it on Steam; after all the 1st got ported in 6 months, most people are probably expecting the same. Also now that the first game is on Xbox there is a contingent of people expecting DS2 to show up there, Game Pass or not. So, they will just wait for the port as well, which likely won't take as long as it did with the first game.

Honestly, DS2 might be a clear sign this whole FOMO strategy isn't gonna work long-term, when people have more games to play than ever, including tons of big GAAS titles with regular updates. More & more people are well good just waiting for a port, and SIE set a precedent for PC gamers to expect all their games this gen given their porting cadence. They'd have to go several years with no ports (for non-GAAS titles) to reset expectations, and I don't see them doing that.



Not bomba, but def underperformed...ba



How is the Death Stranding IP in Everybody's Golf tier of niche? Are we only going by sales?

Like others already said, it has ALL the hallmarks of cinematic single-player third-person story-driven AAA games that should appeal to many PS fans who like SIE's games in that same mold. It has a Hollywood cast rivaling or bettering Horizon Forbidden West's or God of War Ragnarok's. And like I said earlier in this very post, various similar game design elements too (combat loop, upgrade system, open world etc.).

On face value, DS2 is basically as close as you can get to a SIE AAA cinematic game without being one. Okay, maybe it's a couple degrees removed from something like GTA or RDR, but it's still much more similar to them than an Everybody's Golf. So it's natural to assume the game would be selling higher than the original launch-aligned, or at least doing par. Instead it's underperforming in virtually every region.

We can get into why it's underperforming (I gave my reasons above), but it underperforming is a fact at this point. It just is.

Couldn't disagree more with you analysis on DS2. It has ALL the hallmarks of a cinematic SP game that PS gamers love? Seriously? Who the hell loves being a delivery man? Sure it has the cinematics and everything else but the game play which I would argue is the most important part is completely different than anything else.

It's wild to me that people are shocked that DS2 is selling the way it is when DS1 wasn't that big of a seller to begin with. All I ever heard about this series is that it's a walking simulator and if you google gameplay that's exactly what you are going to see is a walking sim. Why did we expect DS2 to sell so much better than DS1 is my question? It took the first game like 2 years and the PC market just to sell 5 million. I'd argue it did those numbers just based on curiosity and Kojima's name a lone.

If there is any game which proves how dumb Sony's multiplatform first party "strategy" is, it's DS2. Turns out expanding to other platforms doesn't really increase game sales. It mostly just bleeds users to the competition.

And yet they are the first game company to reach 30 billion in revenue. So they are clearly doing something right. You might not like the strategy but you can't deny the results.
 
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Capcom really made bank with MHW, and its brand image. They have ruined it now though. This had so much potential.
Pretty sure sales of Wilds have crated since launch month and it's still #1 for the year….that launch week was gangbusters

MK8 outselling MKW in month 2 is very interesting
 
Couldn't disagree more with you analysis on DS2. It has ALL the hallmarks of a cinematic SP game that PS gamers love? Seriously? Who the hell loves being a delivery man? Sure it has the cinematics and everything else but the game play which I would argue is the most important part is completely different than anything else.

It's wild to me that people are shocked that DS2 is selling the way it is when DS1 wasn't that big of a seller to begin with. All I ever heard about this series is that it's a walking simulator and if you google gameplay that's exactly what you are going to see is a walking sim. Why did we expect DS2 to sell so much better than DS1 is my question? It took the first game like 2 years and the PC market just to sell 5 million. I'd argue it did those numbers just based on curiosity and Kojima's name a lone.



And yet they are the first game company to reach 30 billion in revenue. So they are clearly doing something right. You might not like the strategy but you can't deny the results.


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It's wild to me that people are shocked that DS2 is selling the way it is when DS1 wasn't that big of a seller to begin with. All I ever heard about this series is that it's a walking simulator and if you google gameplay that's exactly what you are going to see is a walking sim.
I'd take it a step further (HAH!) and say it's a balance simulator.
 
Capcom output is the biggest tragedy of this generation. DD2 and MHW both stink. At least re4 was great but I don't wanna give them credit for a remake of an already great game.
Mostly agreed, their track record was most definitely tainted by those two games. MHW at number one for the year is so undeserved it's not even funny.

But RE4 '23? I'll give credit where it's due. The gold standard for a contemporary remake and an outstanding game in its own right that deserves all the sales and praise it's gotten. The original's tank controls aged like milk.
 
We shall see in the end of the year. But I'm pretty sure the sales numbers will suffice and the game was already profitable for a so called "niche game". For a game that is very much hated by bitter and jealous pc, nintendo, and xbox fans just because its not multiplatform at launch, and also by Kojima haters and against Nintendo Switch 2 launch period, DS2 July numbers is still a win.
This is 100 % projection on your behalf. Nobody is hating on DS2, and especially not for any of those reasons.
 
and yet this did nothing to stop the DS1 sales from being low and from people calling the game a walking sim. Almost like the community decided a long time ago that reviews from outlets like this are as close to meaningless as you can get.

Half the games in the top ten from Xbox.

And people are still concerned that going third party was the death knell of the brand.

lol. lmao, even.

I think the scarier part is even with all this they are still predicting declines for the next quarterly report.

 
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This is 100 % projection on your behalf. Nobody is hating on DS2, and especially not for any of those reasons.
I just hope the reason for the some gamers not liking the game is not because it is woke. The game is very based, and none of that twisted gender ideology, binary and trans characters, and pronoun lecturing trash.

I think Kojima team never expected for the game to be a sales monster. A 1.5 - 2 million worldwide sales in two months suffices. I remember in one interview to Kojima, he mentioned that his primary motivation is not profit itself, but what he desire is to prioritize unique artistic expression and innovative storytelling over the safe, formulaic approaches often dictated by profit motives in the modern gaming industry.

Anyway I don't want to be hang up about sales number and be called coping. What matters is the game is beautiful, cerebral, addictive and very enjoyable. Ds2 is a generational type of a game, possibly the game of the year.
 
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Couldn't disagree more with you analysis on DS2. It has ALL the hallmarks of a cinematic SP game that PS gamers love? Seriously? Who the hell loves being a delivery man? Sure it has the cinematics and everything else but the game play which I would argue is the most important part is completely different than anything else.

It's wild to me that people are shocked that DS2 is selling the way it is when DS1 wasn't that big of a seller to begin with. All I ever heard about this series is that it's a walking simulator and if you google gameplay that's exactly what you are going to see is a walking sim. Why did we expect DS2 to sell so much better than DS1 is my question? It took the first game like 2 years and the PC market just to sell 5 million. I'd argue it did those numbers just based on curiosity and Kojima's name a lone.

You might think this way but Sony sure didn't, with the marquee first party marketing and the numerous prime time TV spots.

They marketed this like any of their own tent-pole AAA games.
 
Half the games in the top ten from Xbox.

And people are still concerned that going third party was the death knell of the brand.

lol. lmao, even.
It was the death knell for their console business.

Sony made 30 billion in revenue for the year just off the back of Playstation. Good luck hitting those numbers as a third party whose only source of revenue is game sales. Sega didn't magically become more competitive with Sony and Nintendo after they went third party. They actually stopped being competition altogether once they started releasing games on the other consoles.
 
You might think this way but Sony sure didn't, with the marquee first party marketing and the numerous prime time TV spots.

They marketed this like any of their own tent-pole AAA games.

I doubt Sony didn't see this as a possibility. They have the sales data they know what this series did the first time around. Now the marketing could have simply been an attempt by them to really give this franchise a push and make it more than it currently is. Doesn't necessarily mean Sony was 100% positive they had a massive seller on their hands. Especially when all the data points to the fact that this is a niche series.

Also seems like Kojima signed on to make a few games for Sony. So far all we know he might have negotiated a certain marketing budget for the games as well.
 
"Ubisoft is no longer a Digital Leader Panel participating publisher"

Happy Antonio Banderas GIF

They know they are falling big time!

If there is any game which proves how dumb Sony's multiplatform first party "strategy" is, it's DS2. Turns out expanding to other platforms doesn't really increase game sales. It mostly just bleeds users to the competition.

I agree. They shouldn't release any PS 1st party game on the PC until at least 12 months later. I'd prefer 18+ months personally.

And yet they are the first game company to reach 30 billion in revenue. So they are clearly doing something right. You might not like the strategy but you can't deny the results.

Very true, yet it doesn't mean it's the right thing. The next 2 year will show that they shouldn't bleed to much into PC or they risk losing their PS audience to PC.
 
Huge drop for Switch 2, summer months are slow, it will be interesting to see the sales trajectory in August and September, also the impact of the recent PS5 price increase.
 
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