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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Here's the TL;DR from Chris Dring:

3.88 million PC and console games were sold in the UK across September, a rise of 8% over 2023. This is based on GSD data supplied to GamesIndustry.biz. The jump in game sales is the result of six new titles in the Top Ten.

The No.1 game was, unsurprisingly, EA Sports FC 25. The new football game saw launch sales drop 4.6% over last year's title. Although the game's sales are slightly lower than last year, the game's premium early access edition actually performed better year-on-year.

EA Sports FC was the runaway winner, but that shouldn't take away from a phenomenal performance of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 at No.2 in the charts.

The Saber Interactive and Pullup Entertainment title is already the third best-selling new game released this year, behind the aforementioned EA Sports FC 25 and February's Helldivers 2.

The third biggest game of the month is The Crew 2 from Ubisoft. The 2018 racing title was discounted to under £1, which was just to cover the game's platform fee, which caused a huge surge in sales.

At No.4 in the charts is Star Wars Outlaws. It was a disappointing start for Ubisoft's game, and is now tracking (slightly) behind the launch of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, which was developed by the same studio and released back in December 2023. Ubisoft is now actively pushing Star Wars over the Q4 sales window.

And rounding off the Top Five is Astro Bot from PlayStation. It's a strong start for Sony's platformer. The game's first four weeks of sales are up 24% compared with 2021's Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which was the previous PS5-only game aimed at a broader gaming audience.

Other new games in September include NBA 2K25, which is tracking 14% behind last year's NBA title. And just making the Top Ten was The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. After one week, the 2D Zelda game posted sales 14% below that of 2019's Link's Awakening remake (which was made in the same art style). However, this is purely physical sales, and so the real figures may be a lot closer between the two when downloading is taken into account.

Big month for PS5 Digital console

Over 126,000 games consoles were sold in the UK last month, which is 35% down on September 2023, NielsenIQ/GfK data shows.PS5 was comfortably the top-selling console once again, well ahead of second place Xbox Series S and X. Nintendo Switch is No.3 again, and has now slipped to No.3 for the year.

It was a big month for the PS5 All-Digital console, which had its second best month so far (its previous best was December 2023).

As we head into the fourth quarter, console sales this year are down 32% over 2023.Over in accessories, over 743,000 products were sold at UK retail, which is 11% up over September last year.The No.1 accessory this month was the Midnight Black DualSense controller, which means the White variety has dropped to No.2. New at No.10 is the DualSense Astro Bot limited edition controller.

Making a first-time appearance is the PS5 Disc Drive, which is at No21 by units, but No 8 by revenue. This will be driven by the success of the PS5 All-Digital console last month, plus increased stock levels for the standalone Disc Drive.

Meanwhile, the Playstation Portal Remote Player continues to be a highlight as the No.1 accessory by revenue (No.8 by volume) for the first nine months of 2024. So far this year it has been the No.1 or No.2 accessory by revenue in each month, NielsenQ/GFK reports. The only exception was in January when stock levels were very low.

UK GSD September 2024 Top 10 (Digital and Physical)​

Position	Title
1	EA Sports FC 25 (EA)
2	Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Pullup Entertainment)
3	The Crew 2 (Ubisoft)
4	Star Wars Outlaws (Ubisoft)
5	Astro Bot (Sony)
6	Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)
7	Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
8	NBA 2K25 (2K Games)
9	Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Deep Silver)
10	The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)*

EA Sports FC 25, Space Marine 2, Astro Bot and PS5 impress in bumper September | UK Monthly Charts

EA Sports FC 25 tops the charts in the UK ahead of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Meanwhile, The Crew 2, Star Wars Outlaws and Astro Bot all make the Top 5

www.gamesindustry.biz

 

[Bernoulli]

3.88 million PC and console games were sold in the UK across September, a rise of 8% over 2025.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Tsk, Tsk. GIBiz should look into getting a better editor. Anyway, fixed!

 

[Klosshufvud]

Console sales down 35%, the market is not adapting well to the high cost current-gen systems. Will impact software sales down the line too. PS5 being more expensive now than at launch is a gut punch.

 

[SweetTooth]

Fantastic results for PS5 and Astro!

 

[GHG]

The biggest surprise here is how well the portal is doing.

 

[Kacho]

3	The Crew 2 (Ubisoft)
4	Star Wars Outlaws (Ubisoft)

 

[onQ123]

I wonder if PlayStation Portal is actually outselling Switch in the UK right now.

 

[onQ123]

It was $1 it should be number 1 lol

 

[Parazels]

Console sales down 35%, the market is not adapting well to the high cost current-gen systems. Will impact software sales down the line too. PS5 being more expensive now than at launch is a gut punch.

Now there are more consoles on the market than in 2023.
How can the bigger install base cause lower software sales?

 

[SweetTooth]

The biggest surprise here is how well the portal is doing.

Nintendo reaction:

"I hope Sony doesn't get any clues from this!"

 

[Woopah]

Great performance by Astrobot and Space Marine, and happy to see Kingdom Come up there.

Echoes of Wisdom is doing OK/solid, but Switch is starting to struggle in the UK.

 

[Parazels]

Nintendo reaction:

"I hope Sony doesn't get any clues from this!"

I wonder.
Could the rumored PS6 handheld and hypothetical PS Portal 2 coexist in the next generation?

 

[Kacho]

Great performance by Astrobot and Space Marine, and happy to see Kingdom Come up there.

Echoes of Wisdom is doing OK/solid, but Switch is starting to struggle in the UK.

What is your take on hardware collapsing?

Will Switch 2 carry the load in 2025?

Will the PlayStation/Xbox decline continue like we're seeing?

 

[Digital-Aftertaste]

It was $1 it should be number 1 lol

idk, 1 pound for a ubisoft game seems overpriced tbh

 

[owandeseis]

Now there are more consoles on the market than in 2023.
How can the bigger install base cause lower software sales?

It's 35% less consoles, software for consoles/PC seems to be up 8% from last year, but i guess stuff like Wukong and Warhammer helped. Consoles selling less Software now that games are not crossgen anymore (most of them) wouldn't be that weird imo.

Really great numbers for Space Marine, specially considering many of these sales were at a very high price.

Expected Outlaws to be lower considering it only sold 1 mill? maye the UK likes Star Wars more, no clue.

Good but nothing crazy for Astro Bot, not a genre PS/Xbox and even PC players normally care about, specially if it's not coop.

And the charts being unit based instead of it being about how much money it generated is weird btw :S

 

[GigaBowser]

Nintendo reaction:

"I hope Sony doesn't get any clues from this!"

vita 2 dreams do come true

 

[Klosshufvud]

Now there are more consoles on the market than in 2023.
How can the bigger install base cause lower software sales?

This console gen having lower install base will impact sales going from one generation to the next. We are just now getting current gen only games. New games are having a tough time on the market. IMO install base needs to be bigger and general price of entry lower to preserve healthy buying habits.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

The biggest surprise here is how well the portal is doing.

My portal has paid for itself ten times over when I’m on conference calls and having to listen to people talk while blasting out some vampire survivors, Astro bot etc.

It’s an amazing device, I’m in for a proper handheld if Sony get back in to the market or for a steam deck 2.0 when they drop.

 

[Roufianos]

Outlaws selling less than that shitty Avatar bomb is hilarious

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Console sales down 35%, the market is not adapting well to the high cost current-gen systems. Will impact software sales down the line too. PS5 being more expensive now than at launch is a gut punch.

The fall in percentage is more lead by the fall of the Switch and the XBS.

Great performance by Astrobot and Space Marine, and happy to see Kingdom Come up there.

Echoes of Wisdom is doing OK/solid, but Switch is starting to struggle in the UK.

It's a really strong report outside of Ubisoft.

Nintendo has waited too long for the Switch 2. It should have launched this holiday season at the latest, but TOTK probably should have been a Switch 2 launch title.

What is your take on hardware collapsing?

Will Switch 2 carry the load in 2025?

Will the PlayStation/Xbox decline continue like we're seeing?

Hardware isn't collapsing. GTA6 will carry the load in 2025.

 

[pulicat]

UK market is really small in comparison to Japan market. Despite gaming media exposure on UK market sales the numbers are pitifully low.

2024 total hardware
UK - 829k
Japan - 3.35m

 

[Kacho]

 

[GHG]

My portal has paid for itself ten times over when I’m on conference calls and having to listen to people talk while blasting out some vampire survivors, Astro bot etc.

It’s an amazing device, I’m in for a proper handheld if Sony get back in to the market or for a steam deck 2.0 when they drop.

I understand that. Since I got my steam deck (and then upgraded to the OLED model) it's probably been my most used gaming device in terms of time played. I wouldn't sacrifice my PC or PS5 for it because I value the quality of experiences I have on those devices more, but in terms of just being able to pick up an indie game (or an older game) and play, it's been an amazing device.

 

[onnextflix5]

Ps portal doing well as everyone thinks it’s a vita 2, when they get it home and find out it’s not, they are not to pleased, what a missed opportunity from Sony,

 

[Felessan]

I wonder.
Could the rumored PS6 handheld and hypothetical PS Portal 2 coexist in the next generation?

Vastly different price points
Portal is 200$ and handheld will be 400-500$

 

[Mibu no ookami]

UK market is really small in comparison to Japan market. Despite gaming media exposure on UK market sales the numbers are pitifully low.

2024 total hardware
UK - 829k
Japan - 3.35m

The UK market is smaller than Japan, but more representative of gaming in general.

If you want to extrapolate data, the UK is going to be a better use-case.

Play habits will be more similar to the rest of Europe and North America.

 

[Felessan]

Ps portal doing well as everyone thinks it’s a vita 2, when they get it home and find out it’s not, they are not to pleased, what a missed opportunity from Sony,

Some people for sure like to rationalize their desire for Portal to fail
If this would be the case word of mouth would be negative and device would stop selling (I doubt many really think it's a vita2 especially after one year on the market) - in reality its not the case, portal still has very good healthy sales

 

[vivftp]

Ps portal doing well as everyone thinks it’s a vita 2, when they get it home and find out it’s not, they are not to pleased, what a missed opportunity from Sony,

lol, what nonsense.

 

[Woopah]

What is your take on hardware collapsing?

Will Switch 2 carry the load in 2025?

Will the PlayStation/Xbox decline continue like we're seeing?

Switch 2 will be the source of growth in 2025 and 2026, like how PS5 was in the last couple of years.

By this point PS5 and Xbox Series will over 4 years old. It's very hard to get growth at that point.

Whether Switch 2 will be seen as "carrying" will depend on:

1. Whether Sony can take price actions with the PS5
2. Whether MS can turn Xbox Series around with better exclusives.

 

[Woopah]

The fall in percentage is more lead by the fall of the Switch and the XBS.



It's a really strong report outside of Ubisoft.

Nintendo has waited too long for the Switch 2. It should have launched this holiday season at the latest, but TOTK probably should have been a Switch 2 launch title.

I think launching TOTK last Spring to give Switch one last year of great sales was the right move. But agree that this holiday season would have been a great time for Switch 2. It really needs to come in H1 2025 (which I reckon is highly likely given Nintendo's software announcemts).

 

[Mibu no ookami]

vita 2 dreams do come true

I'm confident the return of a sony handheld is more a matter of when and not if.

What I am hoping though is that they aren't pressured into delivering something the size of the steam deck or even switch oled.

I think the Portal can fill that niche.

Give us something that can be used on the go.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I think launching TOTK last Spring to give Switch one last year of great sales was the right move. But agree that this holiday season would have been a great time for Switch 2. It really needs to come in H1 2025 (which I reckon is highly likely given Nintendo's software announcemts).

Ultimately, we'll see if it was the right move. If the Switch 2 has no compelling software for a period, I think they'll regret TOTK not launching on it.

Not sure how they're going to push Mario Kart 9 when people are more than satisfied with Mario Kart 8.

 

[Warspite]

Good to see Space Marine 2 doing well, the right game, in the right place, at the right time I think.

 

[jm89]

Some people for sure like to rationalize their desire for Portal to fail
If this would be the case word of mouth would be negative and device would stop selling (I doubt many really think it's a vita2 especially after one year on the market) - in reality its not the case, portal still has very good healthy sales

Yeah, that sentinment is massiveley exaggarated.

There will be some people buying it thinking it is a standalone device, but they are a small miniorty.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Switch 2 will be the source of growth in 2025 and 2026, like how PS5 was in the last couple of years.

By this point PS5 and Xbox Series will over 4 years old. It's very hard to get growth at that point.

Whether Switch 2 will be seen as "carrying" will depend on:

1. Whether Sony can take price actions with the PS5
2. Whether MS can turn Xbox Series around with better exclusives.

There is no exclusive game slated for Xbox Series in 2025 that suggests being a needle mover.

GTA6 is the needle mover for consoles next year, especially if it launches with an online mode as you'll see people migrate from GTA5 Online.

You also have several sports games that might not release on previous generation next year.

The only move Microsoft has is to drop the price of the Xbox and hope that there isn't a Series S problem with GTA6 and hope people choose that as an option over PS5/PS5 Pro.

I don't think Sony will drop the price unless GTA6 starts shifting a higher percentage of Xbox units.

The Switch 2 depending on price is not going to have a huge first year.

 

[LordOcidax]

126K in a month for all three consoles, i thought that UK was more closer to Japan in terms of sales, thats kinda low IMO

 

[Javi97]

Would it still be possible for Sony to reach 100 million units sold without a console that can sell for $300? I feel like they need something like that, a new PS5 with less power but that can use PSSR and has an RDNA 4 GPU so it doesn't suffer so much with games that use ray tracing

 

[Woopah]

UK market is really small in comparison to Japan market. Despite gaming media exposure on UK market sales the numbers are pitifully low.

2024 total hardware
UK - 829k
Japan - 3.35m

Every country outside of the US is small compared to Japan in terms of consoles.

Ultimately, we'll see if it was the right move. If the Switch 2 has no compelling software for a period, I think they'll regret TOTK not launching on it.

Not sure how they're going to push Mario Kart 9 when people are more than satisfied with Mario Kart 8.

I would agree with that, compelling software is key and they can't be lacking.

I'm expecting a next-gen only 3D Mario and MK9, plus cross gen Pokemon Legends ZA to be the big hitters in 2025

And then they'll be smaller stuff like Prime 4, MonolithSoft, a new IP and third parties.

Not sure what the big hook will be for MK9, maybe some kind of adventure mode?

 

[XXL]

We should probably start posting the prior years number because people have zero idea about YOY when gauged by monthly sale. Good or bad it's contextual.

I mean...

[GSD] UK sales September 2023 - PS5#1 (+24%) XBS#2 (+136%) NSW#3 (+18%) | EA FC 24#1 Starfield#2 MK1#3

[GSD] UK sales September 2023 - PS5#1 (+24%) XBS#2 (+136%) NSW#3 (+18%) | EA FC 24#1 Starfield#2 MK1#3

3.5 million video games were sold across the UK last month, a slight rise of nearly 1% over the year before (GSD data). The best-selling game by a country mile was EA Sports FC 24. It's a strong launch for the game, with sales only down 8% over last year's FIFA 23. It was expected that there...

www.neogaf.com

Xbox is collaping that's the main difference.

 

[mckmas8808]

The biggest surprise here is how well the portal is doing.

Should it be a surprise at this point. We've been trying to tell people that the PS Portal has been a success.

 

[Represent.]

Anything to downplay the Xbox lmaoo, Xbox is not “popular” in the UK, and especially not more than the switch lol. Switch is flopping right now and people want switch 2. That’s what it is.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Anything to downplay the Xbox lmaoo, Xbox is not “popular” in the UK, and especially not more than the switch lol. Switch is flopping right now and people want switch 2. That’s what it is.

The Uk is still the 2nd biggest market for Xbox though. Even if it's far behind the other 2. It's not popular...but it's also not selling one unit each time PS5 sells 20.

 

[mckmas8808]

Would it still be possible for Sony to reach 100 million units sold without a console that can sell for $300? I feel like they need something like that, a new PS5 with less power but that can use PSSR and has an RDNA 4 GPU so it doesn't suffer so much with games that use ray tracing

Yeah they can. The PS5 is currently $450 at the lowest. It should be $399 by next summer\fall. With GTA 6 coming out in 2025 (maybe), I can see the PS5 ending 2025 with 90 million units sold (if everything goes well).

The question is will Sony lower the price of the PS5 to $300 in the year 2026.

 

[Ronin_7]

Ps portal doing well as everyone thinks it’s a vita 2, when they get it home and find out it’s not, they are not to pleased, what a missed opportunity from Sony,

What have I just read.

 

[yazenov]

Star wars Outlaws sales are disappointing to say the least.

It selling below Avatar Pandora puts things into perspective. For reference, we have this little nugget in the European charts for December 2023:

"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."

European game sales up slightly in December | European Monthly Charts

PS5 sales up 66% in Europe during December

www.gamesindustry.biz

I know this thread is about the UK, but expect similar results for it in Europe and US.

Half of Assassins Creed Mirage, which is a smaller budget game and in scope compared to Valhalla. And Mirage did half the sales of Valhalla. We can safely say that Its a huge flop.

 

[owandeseis]

126K in a month for all three consoles, i thought that UK was more closer to Japan in terms of sales, thats kinda low IMO

And that's with a PS5 discount in pretty much every country for this September

Console sales in Europe have been weak this generation, specially since the specific price hike for our contintent PS5 and Xbox had 1-2 years ago.

Xbox is quickly dying and sales here are the main reason PS5 is falling behind PS4, since it's doing better in USA and Japan AFAIK.

Wonder what'll happen with the Switch 2 , it could dominate here if it gets a good price.

 

[zedinen]

Hardware
1.PS5 ~68k (-33% YoY)
2.X|S ~33k (-39% YoY)
3 NSW ~25k



Investors need to wake up.

PS5 is on track to sell 14 million in FY24

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Would it still be possible for Sony to reach 100 million units sold without a console that can sell for $300? I feel like they need something like that, a new PS5 with less power but that can use PSSR and has an RDNA 4 GPU so it doesn't suffer so much with games that use ray tracing

Yeah they can. The PS5 is currently $450 at the lowest. It should be $399 by next summer\fall. With GTA 6 coming out in 2025 (maybe), I can see the PS5 ending 2025 with 90 million units sold (if everything goes well).

The question is will Sony lower the price of the PS5 to $300 in the year 2026.

It would be interesting to see if they could pull that off. Something like a PS5 Neo.

I speculated they could release a PS5 super slim that utilized a smaller GPU but one that included PSSR and maybe a smaller SOC, 5nm.

A lot of questions around that though.

Would there actually be a cost savings for Sony by doing that and how close could they get to the exact specifications of the standard PS5 or could they go for actively market lower visual fidelity, but same performance.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Hardware
1.PS5 ~68k (-33% YoY)
2.X|S ~33k (-39% YoY)
3 NSW ~25k



Investors need to wake up.

PS5 is on track to sell 14 million in FY24

Suggesting Sony is on track to sell 14 million units, ignores that the PS5 Pro just launched. It also ignores any sales that we're unaware of in China.