Sales drop in the UK following Black Friday – WholesGame

A week after Black Friday, every game in the top ten saw a decrease in sales, with EA Sports FC 24 and Hogwarts Legacy remaining on top despite the setback. Super Mario Bros. Wonder moved up from No. 4 to No. 3, swapping places with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, last week’s number 6, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, formerly number 5, also switched places this week as not all sales decreases were equal. For example, Nintendo Switch Sports and Star Wars: Jedi Survivor managed to remain the 7th and 9th places respectively, while Minecraft (Nintendo Switch) and Mortal Kombat 1 climbed the chart.

It was a quiet week for new releases, with only Batman: Arkham Trilogy and The Walking Dead Destinies placing on the chart, but back in No. 28 and No. 29 respectively. The release calendar for the rest of the year is sparse, with no major releases set to arrive until after the New Year.

Older games rejoining the top 20 include Cyberpunk 2077 and Forspoken, while those climbing further down the chart include Stray, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Lego Harry Potter Collection, and Super Mario Party. Mario + Rabbids: Spark of Hope saw an 83% sales increase, the largest one of the week as retailers recover from Black Friday discounts.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on the Nintendo Switch and Steamworld Build were each released on December 1st and might place on the next chart with more days of sales, but each is a niche title, so it is unlikely they will make much of an impact. Looking ahead, the full release of Disney Dreamlight Valley and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, are the last major releases. Avatar, coming over a decade after the only other major video game in the franchise, will be closely watched despite the mixed early reviews.