UK Charts (week 46) : Pokemon Sword & Shield is the biggest exclusive of the year ; 2nd biggest Pokemon launch in UK history

ArmGunar · Nov 17, 2019

UK Physical Charts (Week 46, ending Nov 17th)

Pokemon Sword and Shield

Second biggest Pokemon launch in UK history
Third biggest game launch of the year (just behind FIFA and Call of Duty)
Biggest exclusive of 2019

Combined together, the titles have secured the second biggest launch for Pokémon games in UK history, having sold 33% (or 43%) more units than 2010's Black and White on Nintendo DS. The new games have also sold 53% (or 64.6%) more units at launch than last year's Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, which were also released on Nintendo Switch.

However, they could not topple the success of Pokémon Sun and Moon. Sun and Moon were released during the Pokémon Go phenomenon of 2016 and together they represent the biggest Nintendo launch in the UK (ever). Compared to those 3DS games, Sword and Shield's debut sales are 39% (or 34.5%) lower.

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order

4th biggest launch of the year
Sales 33% lower than Battlefront 2 (about 89k launch, Battlefront 2 did about 130k and Battlefront 2015 did 334k)
66% on PS4 / 34% on Xbox One

In between the Pokémon releases is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order at No.2. It's a very strong opening for EA's new Star Wars adventure, and it's the fourth biggest boxed game launch of the year so far.

Sales are 33% lower than the last big EA Star Wars game - Star Wars: Battlefront II, which was released in November 2017. However, EA has stated it doesn't have the same level of expectation for this title, as it's a story-driven adventure, rather than a multiplayer shooter. Furthermore, digital sales are not included.

Death Stranding

71% drop week on week (about 13k in its 2nd week)

Last week's big release was Death Stranding for PS4. The Hideo Kojima game suffers a sizeable drop in its second week on sale, falling 71% in sales. The game therefore drops from No.2 to No.8.

More at link about NFS Heat, Minecraft Switch, Just Dance, etc...

Need for Speed: Heat, which debuted at No.5 last week, drops 38% in sales and falls to No.11.
Meanwhile, Mario & Sonic At The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games actually rose in sales during its second week (sales up 12%), however the game still falls from No.8 to No.10.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...rd-and-shield-post-huge-opening-weekend-sales

ItWasMeantToBe19 · Nov 17, 2019

Is the 71% drop for Death Stranding extreme or not that out of the ordinary.

Deleted member 51691 · Nov 17, 2019

Terminator Resistance was a retail release? But why?

Kingpin Rogers · Nov 17, 2019

Only the second biggest Pokemon launch huh :/

VX1 · Nov 17, 2019

Pokemon expected, i guess.Not bad for Fallen Order.Death Stranding was very front loaded it seems.

DrDeckard · Nov 17, 2019

Pokemon Absolutely incredible. Jeez. Surely all those people kicking up a fuss have still bought it to do a number like this?

Death stranding has dropped fast.

ArmGunar · Nov 17, 2019

ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
Is the 71% drop for Death Stranding extreme or not that out of the ordinary.

Big drop for a FRI release, compared to others Sony first party FRI releases :

Spider-Man : -42% 2nd week (110k copies sold)
God of War : -35% 2nd week (62k)
Days Gone : -60% 2nd week (28k)
Ratchet 2016 : -49% 2nd week (19.4k)

Even Horizon, with a WED release, dropped -60% in its 2nd week (46k)

Lugia · Nov 17, 2019

Kingpin Rogers said:
Only the second biggest Pokemon launch huh :/

"Only" sarcasm i guess?

IamFlying · Nov 17, 2019

Thats a big drop for DS.

And an impressive launch for Pokemon. I wonder how many hardware the game has sold.

Since UK is traditionaly not a big market fir Nintendo I would think that Pokemon probably tops all best seller lists in europe.

Abicus · Nov 17, 2019

Kingpin Rogers said:
Only the second biggest Pokemon launch huh :/

I would wager 3DS had the larger install base and Pokémon Go timing.

LordOcidax · Nov 17, 2019

The fad is over.

ItWasMeantToBe19 · Nov 17, 2019

ArmGunar said:
Big drop for a FRI release, compared to others Sony first party FRI releases :

Spider-Man : -42% 2nd week (110k copies sold)

God of War : -35% 2nd week (62k)

Ratchet 2016 : -49% 2nd week (19.4k)

Even Horizon, with a WED release, dropped -60% in its 2nd week (46k)

Thank you for the data!

DrDeckard · Nov 17, 2019

ArmGunar said:
Big drop for a FRI release, compared to others Sony first party FRI releases :

Spider-Man : -42% 2nd week (110k copies sold)

God of War : -35% 2nd week (62k)

Ratchet 2016 : -49% 2nd week (19.4k)

Even Horizon, with a WED release, dropped -60% in its 2nd week (46k)

Wow. Crazy drop for death stranding. A lot worse than I thought. Especially for a november release.

I wonder if sony will just leave it to die or if we can expect bundles and further promo.

Yep · Nov 17, 2019

Since vouchers and eshop are now a thing I expect SwSh 10ish% under SuMo if not less

Deleted member 51691 · Nov 17, 2019

ArmGunar said:
Big drop for a FRI release, compared to others Sony first party FRI releases :

Spider-Man : -42% 2nd week (110k copies sold)

God of War : -35% 2nd week (62k)

Days Gone : -60% 2nd week (28k)

Ratchet 2016 : -49% 2nd week (19.4k)

Even Horizon, with a WED release, dropped -60% in its 2nd week (46k)

The UK didn't really care for Ratchet and Clank, huh?

ILikeFeet · Nov 17, 2019

ArmGunar said:
Big drop for a FRI release, compared to others Sony first party FRI releases :

Spider-Man : -42% 2nd week (110k copies sold)

God of War : -35% 2nd week (62k)

Days Gone : -60% 2nd week (28k)

Ratchet 2016 : -49% 2nd week (19.4k)

Even Horizon, with a WED release, dropped -60% in its 2nd week (46k)

I'm wondering if the game itself contributed to the drop. not being an actiony game may have affected the word of mouth

OfficerRaichu15 · Nov 17, 2019

With digital, it's probably pretty close. Also will probably have better legs.

TheWickedSoul · Nov 17, 2019

Talent won

hannybunny24 · Nov 17, 2019

Ring Fit on the Rise again. Incredible.
Amazing for Pokemon, with digital its propably closer to Sun&Moon then many thought. Bodes well for worldwide sales.

NotLiquid · Nov 17, 2019

Zed · Nov 17, 2019

I don't think anyone expected this to outsell sun and moon. The 3DS had a very large install base at that point.

Deleted member 42484 · Nov 17, 2019

Luigi's Mansion 3 really hanging in there, going for that 10 million.

DecoReturns · Nov 17, 2019

That's a huge drop for Death Stranding.

Normally, Sony titles perform much better in their second week then 71% drop

Deleted member 37233 · Nov 17, 2019

With Mario Kart 8: Deluxe at No.9 and Luigi's Mansion 3 at No.6, there are six Nintendo Switch exclusives in the Top Ten.

Other notable successes for Nintendo this week is Minecraft on Switch rising 31% in sales week-on-week (but still falls from No.9 to No.12), while Ring Fit Adventure sales are up 36%, and the fitness game moves from No.19 to No.15 as a result.

Man, that game! Crazy!

HardRojo · Nov 17, 2019

Funny thing is that, the more these titles keep selling, the less room for excuses there is regarding cut features, but here we are.

Deleted member 2791 · Nov 17, 2019

Fantastic launch for SWSH. Bodes well for WW.

chrisPjelly · Nov 17, 2019

Who would've thunk they would've liked a Pokemon based in their region.

Also, it's time people accept that Death Stranding was/is not for the mainstream crowd and will have sales to reflect that

ghostcrew · Nov 17, 2019

That's a real solid week for Nintendo. Pokemon doing work as expected but Luigi's Mansion no slouch.

chrisPjelly said:
Who would've thunk they would've liked a Pokemon based in their region.

Speaking as a Brit, I don't feel like there's any awareness or any particular excitement over the fact that Sw/Sh is loosely based on the UK.

RockmanBN · Nov 17, 2019

Zed said:
I don't think anyone expected this to outsell sun and moon. The 3DS had a very large install base at that point.

Eventually it will

Zed · Nov 17, 2019

HardRojo said:
Funny thing is that, the more these titles keep selling, the less room for excuses there is regarding cut features, but here we are.

It will be interesting to see what kind of legs SWSH has. The game is in its honeymoon right now. I remember XY being praised as one of the best Pokemon games but it eventually became the most hated besides maybe Sun/Moon.

IamFlying · Nov 17, 2019

Yep said:
Since vouchers and eshop are now a thing I expect SwSh 10ish% under SuMo if not less

A game with Vouchers like SwSH has normally a 30-50% digital rate. So its not unlikely that SwSH had the best launch in Pokemon history.

But we will probably never now, because Nintendo does not often share digital sales data. We will get to know sales at sometime, and it will show how many physical and digital units have been sold, but no launch sales.

byDoS · Nov 17, 2019

Zed said:
I don't think anyone expected this to outsell sun and moon. The 3DS had a very large install base at that point.

The initial success of Su/Mo is more related to the Pokémon Go phenomenon. Games were very frontloaded, reason why I think Sw/Sh will outsell them in the long run.

I'm betting 18m WW.

DrDeckard · Nov 17, 2019

DecoReturns said:
That's a huge drop for Death Stranding.

Normally, Sony titles perform much better in their second week then 71% drop

I think the word of mouth got to it. Unlike spiderman, Its not niche enough.

DecoReturns · Nov 17, 2019

Luigi Mansion 3 is the real story.

Mario's little Bother able to get that mainstream success.

ArmGunar · Nov 17, 2019

stealthyfrog said:
The UK didn't really care for Ratchet and Clank, huh?

From the launch week back in 2016 : "In terms of week 1 sales units the record was held by 2009s PS3 Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, but the current release beats this by a factor of 3."
It was never huge in UK but PS4 boosted its sales

DriftingSpirit · Nov 17, 2019

I wonder if Pokemon outdid Spider-Man. That was a point of contention in the last thread.

Deleted member 51691 · Nov 17, 2019

Sun and Moon will probably keep the top Pokemon launch spot for a long, long time. Pokemon Go boosted its launch sales by a huge amount.

chrisPjelly said:
Who would've thunk they would've liked a Pokemon based in their region.

Also, it's time people accept that Death Stranding was/is not for the mainstream crowd and will have sales to reflect that

Death Stranding isn't destined to be a 10 million+ seller, but a few million units sold would be a fantastic number for it.

Dark Cloud · Nov 17, 2019

Luigi's Mansion 3 still at #6

Limabean01 · Nov 17, 2019

That's genuinely fantastic for Pokémon, my god. Sun/Moon were obviously untouchable, being the largest Nintendo launch ever thanks to Go. Yet SWSH was within firing range, and even outgrossed sun/moon at physical alone.

With legs that will certainly be leagues ahead of sun/moon's, this could be the best selling Pokémon game in a very long time.

Kingpin Rogers said:
Only the second biggest Pokemon launch huh :/

Pleeease be sarcasm

DriftingSpirit · Nov 17, 2019

I think Death Stranding will end up in the 4-5M range LTD including the PC version.

IamFlying · Nov 17, 2019

Zed said:
It will be interesting to see what kind of legs SWSH has. The game is in its honeymoon right now. I remember XY being praised as one of the best Pokemon games but it eventually became the most hated besides maybe Sun/Moon.

"Hated"? Probably by same the dozens of people that boycott SwSh now?

Its ok and necessary to criticize a game, but people must also learn to look outside of their niche internet bubble.

jman2050 · Nov 17, 2019

Zed said:
It will be interesting to see what kind of legs SWSH has. The game is in its honeymoon right now. I remember XY being praised as one of the best Pokemon games but it eventually became the most hated besides maybe Sun/Moon.

According to who?

chrisPjelly · Nov 17, 2019

stealthyfrog said:
Sun and Moon will probably keep the top Pokemon launch spot for a long, long time. Pokemon Go boosted its launch sales by a huge amount.

Death Stranding isn't destined to be a 10 million+ seller, but a few million units sold would be a fantastic number for it.

Oh for sure. When all is said and done 4-5 million would be a good result for the type of game that it is.

Deleted member 37233 · Nov 17, 2019

Zed said:
The game is in its honeymoon right now.

Ugh, I hate that term ever since people used it for Breath of the Wild all the time back in 2017...

Titik · Nov 17, 2019

It will probably outsell Sun and Moon in the long run as Nintendo titles tend to sell better on the Switch compared to their previous iterations in other consoles.

ItWasMeantToBe19 · Nov 17, 2019

chrisPjelly said:
Oh for sure. When all is said and done 4-5 million would be a good result for the type of game that it is.

Hmmmmmmm, this seems hard to judge.

I think this depends on how much of the actors and mo-cap people were paid

Death Stranding could have been hugely expensive to make.

NSESN · Nov 17, 2019

With vouchers and smaller install base it being only 2nd is still pretty great

Titik · Nov 17, 2019

Lichtsang said:
Ugh, I hate that term ever since people used it for Breath of the Wild all the time back in 2017...

'We are still in the honeymoon period' is the new 'Fad will die any minute now?'

Zed · Nov 17, 2019

IamFlying said:
"Hated"? Probably by same the dozens of people that boycott SwSh now?

Its ok and necessary to criticize a game, but people must also learn to look outside of their niche internet bubble.

"Hated" when compared to other Pokemon games. I'm guessing X/Y and Sun/Moon are the least liked mainline Pokemon games. (I'm not factoring in SWSH since it is new and people still are forming real opinions about the game)

Titik · Nov 17, 2019

ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
Hmmmmmmm, this seems hard to judge.

I think this depends on how much of the actors and mo-cap people were paid

Death Stranding could have been hugely expensive to make.

It probably was expensive. Won't even be surprised if it doesn't make it's money back. I doubt Sony cares though as it did it's job of being a prestige title. Sony will keep funding these as long as exposure is happening.

Betty · Nov 17, 2019

Zed said:
The game is in its honeymoon right now.

This is the worst honeymoon i've ever seen for a Pokemon game.

UK Charts (week 46) : Pokemon Sword & Shield is the biggest exclusive of the year ; 2nd biggest Pokemon launch in UK history

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