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[jm89]

26.6 million PC and Console games were sold across Europe in December, according to the latest GSD data.

December 2022 was a 'five week month', so if we align the weeks, we can see that sales improved 3.6% compared with the same period in 2022.

This data covers all physical game releases in major European markets, and digital game sales from most major publishers.

EA Sports FC24 led the way in December by a considerable margin. However, sales are down 11.5% compared with what FIFA 23 managed in December 2022. There was a football World Cup during the period in 2022, which explains the sales drop.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 falls to No.2 in its second month. Although the game's oveall performance is below the level of previous Call of Duty releases, it remains a major seller across Europe. The Activision Blizzard game stays ahead of Hogwarts Legacy, with the Harry Potter spin-off enjoying its biggest month of sales outside of its initial launch month in February.

Another game that enjoyed a bumper month was Super Mario Bros Wonder. Sales are down very slightly over November, but the Switch exclusive has been a consistent seller since its launch in October.

The new release in the chart is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, which debuts at No.6. As a point of comparison, its sales are about half of what Assassin's Creed Mirage -- Ubisoft's other big Q4 game -- managed in October. The game's success will depend on how it performs over time.

Over in the hardware space, 1.27 million consoles were sold across tracked European markets during December, which is nearly 16% up over the same four-week period in 2022. This was driven by PS5, which saw sales grow nearly 66% year-on-year. Nintendo Switch had to settle for No.2 spot this year, with sales down 7% compared with December 2022. Xbox Series S and X remains third, with sales down more than 19% year-on-year.

In terms of accessories and other add-on products, 3.5 million products were sold across tracked markets in December, which is 11% up over the same period the year before.

European GSD December 2023 Top 10 (Digital + Physical)​

Position	Title
1	EA Sports FC 24 (EA)
2	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard)
3	Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)
4	Super Mario Bros Wonder (Nintendo)*
5	Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
6	Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Ubisoft)
7	Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
8	Spider-Man 2 (Sony)
9	Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Nintendo)*
10	Assassin's Creed Mirage (Ubisoft)

*Digital data unavailable

 

[GHG]

So even the heavy discounts/promotions didn't move the needle?

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Xbox Series S was on sale for 200€ in some places ffs. MS is truly "over" as a console maker in Europe at this point...

 

[Interfectum]

They were practically giving Xbox away in Dec…

 

[HeWhoWalks]

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Xbox Series S was on sale for 200€ in some places ffs. MS is truly "over" as a console maker in Europe at this point...

Xbox Series S competing with Playstation Portal and losing.

Who would've guessed?

 

[chilichote]

Ouch^^

The Series S was available at Amazon DE for €229, but a while before that you could find used Series S in classified ads for around €100-120€, so hardly anyone considers this console really valuable.

 

[Shambala]

 

[SenkiDala]

So even the heavy discounts/promotions didn't move the needle?

Seriously it was full of 169€ XSS, 359 XSX (with Diablo 4 and COD MW3 both free) and still people didn't give a fuck and preferred buy 549€ PS5 with no games included.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

In two days we'll get the December NPD report and Xbox desperately needs some solid news out of it. There was evidence that it got a pretty sizable boost, but the reality is January and February sales are going to look absolutely bleak, so all you really did was accelerate sales into December anyways.

 

[Luminoth-4545]

Year over Year percentage increases/decreases. Credit: enpleinjour from InstallBase

Month	PS5	NSW	XBS
Jan	+202	-11	-32
Feb	+400	-28	+13
Mar	+400	-19	-13
Apr	+144	+38	+19
May	+81	+39	-16
June	+116	-2.3	-0.8
July	+244	-9	??
August	+197	+1	-12
Sept	+175	-28	-35
Oct	+143	-20	-52
Nov	+376	-35	-26
Dec	+66	-7	-19
2023	+177	-10	-18

 

[Flabagast]

Terrible performance for Xbox.

All the result of laughably bad strategic decisions these last few years

 

[Physiognomonics]

Terrible performance for Xbox.

All the result of laughably bad strategic decisions these last few years

Exactly. This is not some unexplained failure. All rooted in the Mattrick + Spencer leaderships.

 

[SkylineRKR]

The Series X has been priced at 400 throughout november and December. Meanwhile PS5 chilled at 550 and did just fine.

 

[Lions Gate]

European GSD December 2023 Top 10 (Digital + Physical)​

Position	Title
1	EA Sports FC 24 (EA)
2	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard)
3	Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)
4	Super Mario Bros Wonder (Nintendo)*
5	Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
6	Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Ubisoft)
7	Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)
8	Spider-Man 2 (Sony)
9	Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Nintendo)*
10	Assassin's Creed Mirage (Ubisoft)

*Digital data unavailable

 

[Gaelyon]

On March, PS5 was +400% and X-box was -13%. That was a 413% delta... By december with PS5 only at +66% and X-box at -19% the delta is only 85% ! From 413 to 85 that 's about 80% delta reduction ! X-box manages to reduce the delta by 328 points, putting doomed Sony on a desperate downfall !

 

[Hudo]

How the fuck is Mario Kart 8 still in any top 10? Nintendo could subsist on that game alone at this point.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Holy shit, is that real?

 

[Pelta88]

-19% despite steep discounts and a lower priced Series S console?

 

[Luminoth-4545]

Switch only 7% down is a great hold and because December is so big for Switch the "bad" -35% November has been minimized. For the quarter Switch is probably only down about 16%. Nintendo Shipped 2.42 million last FYQ3 and if the whole of Europe (including UK and Germany) is down by 16% then expect around 2.03 million shipped for the quarter.

European Shipments FYQ3 (Oct to Dec) for NSW as a Percentage of Global Shipments.

2017 - 2.10M / 7.23M - 29.0%
2018 - 2.77M / 9.41M - 29.4%
2019 - 3.02M / 10.81M - 27.9%
2020 - 2.97M / 11.57M - 25.7%
2021- 3.38M / 10.67M - 31.7%
2022 - 2.42M / 8.22M - 29.4%

 

[HeWhoWalks]

The Series X has been priced at 400 throughout november and December. Meanwhile PS5 chilled at 550 and did just fine.

This is the biggest takeaway. People simply don't want Xbox anymore. For the brand, I feel bad. For Microsoft? Not a tear to shed. All their own fault, and should they discontinue hardware, I'll say the same I said when SEGA left — don't blame Sony.

DenchDeckard

If I'm not mistaken.

 

[TheTony316]

Xbox is more irrelevant than ever in Europe.

 

[TheTony316]

Xbox Series S was on sale for 200€ in some places ffs. MS is truly "over" as a console maker in Europe at this point...

I saw the series S for 150€ at my local games store.

 

[DenchDeckard]

This is the biggest takeaway. People simply don't want Xbox anymore. For the brand, I feel bad. For Microsoft? Not a tear to shed. All their own fault, and should they discontinue hardware, I'll say the same I said when SEGA left — don't blame Sony.

DenchDeckard

If I'm not mistaken.

They clearly haven't done enough to differentiate themselves in the console space, and missed with big exclusive games this gen. They had the hardware, but clearly thought Gamepass could sell the console. it's rude awakening time, and I have no idea if they will quit the console business or not. I personally would be gutted, as I enjoy my Xbox hardware but I'm not going to blame anyone outside of MS. They need to step up and prove everyone who doesn't believe in the hardware wrong. That's on them to do. Only way to win customers over.

I deffo think they should bring more games out on Switch and PS5, just stick to making hardware as well. Is that realistic reality or not, I have no idea.

 

[GHG]

Holy shit, is that real?

Yes, the driver survived but the co-driver died sadly. It's one of the crashes that ended group B in the 80's.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Xbox is more irrelevant than ever in Europe.

Yes I think its tracking below the Xbox One which was seen as a huge clusterfuck. And its not like Series was too late, overpriced or significantly less powerful.

I do know that many stores barely carry Xbox software anymore. And I see absolutely no presence on TV or anywhere. I was in Spain last week and they had in multiple stores like a row of 10 Xbox games tucked away. The rest was all Nintendo and Sony. Its the same in France and Benelux. I think the software is also kind of hard to differentiate from the maligned Xbox One. Not sure MS' plan of not believing in generations work out for them. It was the same with Wii U, people not understanding it wasn't the Wii.

 

[Bernoulli]

Amd is messing up Xbox’s production

 

[Interfectum]

Amd is messing up Xbox’s production

Just wait for the tools.

 

[lh032]

3 more years.

 

[TheTony316]

Yes I think its tracking below the Xbox One which was seen as a huge clusterfuck. And its not like Series was too late, overpriced or significantly less powerful.

I do know that many stores barely carry Xbox software anymore. And I see absolutely no presence on TV or anywhere. I was in Spain last week and they had in multiple stores like a row of 10 Xbox games tucked away. The rest was all Nintendo and Sony. Its the same in France and Benelux. I think the software is also kind of hard to differentiate from the maligned Xbox One. Not sure MS' plan of not believing in generations work out for them. It was the same with Wii U, people not understanding it wasn't the Wii.

Basically the same in Germany.

 

[N30RYU]

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Terrible performance for Xbox.

All the result of laughably bad strategic decisions these last few years

last decade and some

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Year over Year percentage increases/decreases. Credit: enpleinjour from InstallBase

Month	PS5	NSW	XBS
Jan	+202	-11	-32
Feb	+400	-28	+13
Mar	+400	-19	-13
Apr	+144	+38	+19
May	+81	+39	-16
June	+116	-2.3	-0.8
July	+244	-9	??
August	+197	+1	-12
Sept	+175	-28	-35
Oct	+143	-20	-52
Nov	+376	-35	-26
Dec	+66	-7	-19

It's fascinating that there are still people who can see this and think Xbox isn't dead as a console.

These are devastating numbers out of Europe and the worst part of these numbers is that 2024 will be FAR worse... They've already pulled the price lever and it failed. There are no other levers to pull here.

Indiana Jones, Avowed, and Hellblade? Even if all 3 of these games were 95s on Metacritic, it wouldn't change the path that Xbox is on.

Indiana Jones could be Uncharted 2 reborn and it still wouldn't make a difference. The momentum is cemented at this point.

The N64 got Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye and Super Smash Bros... all 5 of these were generation-defining games and the N64 still got smoked. Not to mention games like Star Fox 64, Donkey Kong 64, Majora's mask e.t.c.

The difference in lineups here is staggering. All that and the 64 still sold poorly, largely because it didn't have 3rd party support. Wonder what could have been with a more standardized control scheme and disc based games...

 

[MrTired]

On March, PS5 was +400% and X-box was -13%. That was a 413% delta... By december with PS5 only at +66% and X-box at -19% the delta is only 85% ! From 413 to 85 that 's about 80% delta reduction ! X-box manages to reduce the delta by 328 points, putting doomed Sony on a desperate downfall !

I hope you trolling cause if not...

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

The Series X has been priced at 400 throughout november and December. Meanwhile PS5 chilled at 550 and did just fine.

When you’re constantly telling your audience they don’t need a Xbox and can play anywhere, what do you expect?

Their lack of support for the Xbox consoles and not having enough must play games is the main issue once again, it’s hard for a customer to chose a Xbox over the other options at this point, game pass isn’t enough of a selling point when it lacks solid exclusive games, the constant issue Xbox has had for 2 gens now.

 

[yurinka]

Year over Year percentage increases/decreases. Credit: enpleinjour from InstallBase

Month	PS5	NSW	XBS
Jan	+202	-11	-32
Feb	+400	-28	+13
Mar	+400	-19	-13
Apr	+144	+38	+19
May	+81	+39	-16
June	+116	-2.3	-0.8
July	+244	-9	??
August	+197	+1	-12
Sept	+175	-28	-35
Oct	+143	-20	-52
Nov	+376	-35	-26
Dec	+66	-7	-19

December 2022 was the first month where PS5 had recovered from the chips issue and solved the supply issue, so it's normal to see there a smaller growth than in the other months, but still:

How the fuck is Mario Kart 8 still in any top 10? Nintendo could subsist on that game alone at this point.

I assume there are two reasons:

1. If you have a Switch and like racing games don't have a lot of great games to choose from
2. It has a Mario in the cover and name

Edit:
Obviously there's the point 3.: it's an awesome game.

 

[lughnasadh123]

People mentioning price not moving the need on moving consoles when we all know it's not going anywhere until they start a steady, yearly release of solid titles which if we're honest really won't changing the mindset to buy an xbox till probably the start of next gen.

 

[LordOcidax]

Switch ONLY down -7% YoY in December (Their biggest month of the year) is something else for a seven years old console. Expected for the PS5 and Xbox.

 

[Skifi28]

At least there's always Asia for xbox.

 

[jroc74]

The uphill battle turned into a volcano.

People mentioning price not moving the need on moving consoles when we all know it's not going anywhere until they start a steady, yearly release of solid titles which if we're honest really won't changing the mindset to buy an xbox till probably the start of next gen.

Maybe. Its just funny because a few years ago the Series S price and Game Pass was all MS needed. "Game Pass is the killer exclusive" is what some said. Hell, even I said it... just not in the same context as some others, lol.

 

[Horseganador]

Even with a massive price difference, people prefer to pay €549 for a PS5 than less than €399 for a Series X or about €200 for an S, in Europe Xbox is finished.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Even with a massive price difference, people prefer to pay €549 for a PS5 than less than €399 for a Series X or about €200 for an S, in Europe Xbox is finished.

I wonder if they are getting dangerously close to be accused of predatory pricing. That's my guess as to why they haven't dropped the price even further.

 

[MrTired]

The uphill battle turned into a volcano.


Maybe. Its just funny because a few years ago the Series S price and Game Pass was all MS needed. "Game Pass is the killer exclusive" is what some said. Hell, even I said it... just not in the same context as some others, lol.

I definitely recall this. I wasn't of the belief. I should have bookmark people's responses who now say the current outcome was always inevitable but we're talking very differently in 2020.

 

[nowhat]

I assume there are two reasons:

1. If you have a Switch and like racing games don't have a lot of great games to choose from
2. It has a Mario in the cover and name

I'd like to add:

3. It's a terrific game, still

I originally got a WiiU just for MK8. I did end up playing other games on it of course, but even as a dedicated MK8 console I would have been satisfied. Not as much fun solo, but when it comes to couch-vs, it's right up there with the best that's available right now.

 

[Physiognomonics]

The uphill battle turned into a volcano.


Maybe. Its just funny because a few years ago the Series S price and Game Pass was all MS needed. "Game Pass is the killer exclusive" is what some said. Hell, even I said it... just not in the same context as some others, lol.

People just don't want weak machines (Jim Ryan was right ) nor do they want a subpar AA service sub.

 

[yurinka]

I'd like to add:

3. It's a terrific game, still

I originally got a WiiU just for MK8. I did end up playing other games on it of course, but even as a dedicated MK8 console I would have been satisfied. Not as much fun solo, but when it comes to couch-vs, it's right up there with the best that's available right now.

Yes, it's awesome. It already was in WiiU, and now with extra content and better visuals (it already was enough in WiiU) it's understandable that everybody remotely interested in arcade racing would buy it.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

People mentioning price not moving the need on moving consoles when we all know it's not going anywhere until they start a steady, yearly release of solid titles which if we're honest really won't changing the mindset to buy an xbox till probably the start of next gen.

So, we're going from "wait til next year" to "wait til next gen"?

 

[JohnnyFootball]

This was suggested on Digital Foundry and I actually think it would be a good move.

Have Xbox partner heavily with one of the handhelds and market is an Xbox handheld. Have it with a custom windows OS that can play Xbox games and PC games and get achievements. Still allow that handheld to play competitor launchers.

Bundle it with 3 months of Gamepass like they do most of these handhelds AND bundle it with 5 free MS owned games that you can pick and keep forever.

Just spitballing here. That is one area I can see Xbox carving itself a niche.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

So, we're going from "wait til next year" to "wait til next gen"?

How many "wait till next gen" have we had now?

 

[JohnnyFootball]

So, we're going from "wait til next year" to "wait til next gen"?

How Xbox is going to justify releasing another console is going to be an interesting sale.