Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy has once again managed to bat away the competition, keeping its position at the top of the UK charts for a fourth consecutive week.
With a generous amount of Xbox One price reductions taking place over Amazon Prime Day last week, the top ten is a strange blend of current heavy-hitters and older re-entries this week. Rare's Xbox One exclusive Sea of Thieves has re-entered the charts thanks to being included in console bundles over the sale, as has Minecraft: Xbox Edition and Forza Horizon 3. LEGO The Incredibles has also seen another impressive week thanks to the Incredibles 2 movie being released earlier this month.
Octopath Traveler has sadly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, dropped from its third-place spot last week to 16th place this time around with a 60% fall in sales. That drop is relatively normal for a game as niche as Octopath Traveler, however, with the sudden jump of Xbox titles making the chart position drop seem a little more significant.
Interestingly, only 2,000 sales separate all of the top six positions this week so things were very close indeed. Here's the top ten:
1. (1) Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
2. (3) LEGO The Incredibles
3. (Re-Entry) Sea of Thieves
4. (Re-Entry) Minecraft: Xbox Edition
5. (New) Sonic Mania Plus
6. (Re-Entry) Forza Horizon 3
7. (5) God of War
8. (11) The Crew 2
9. (6) FIFA 18
10. (10) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Did you buy any of these chart-topping games this week?
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 60
Why isn't Crash in Red?? For that matter Lego the Incredibles as well??
It was Prime day on Amazon and those XBOX games were in bundles that were heavily discounted.
@Mossii yes, the article says this.
Worth noting Sonic Mania Plus also sold best on Switch
There might have been a little drop from last week's domination but at the end of the day half of the top 10 is still on Switch. I don't think Nintendo have had so much UK chart presence since the SNES days.
Because of the lack of Physical AAA games that I would want to play I took a punt on Crash......
The Switch graphics are ok, because of the fast game play you don't have time to notice the graphics in any detail and the loading times are really fast. The game does get addictive, just one more go addictive, and this is just game 2.
But, and there is always a but, this is an old style game with old style game play.
To complete a level you have to remember each spot where you loose a life and try not to get hit, fall down a hole or hit a TNT crate on the next play. And there will be lots of next plays for everyone but the really expert gamer.
And some levels after 50 attempts you may see your controller exit via a window.
I doubt if there will be many 100% completed Crash cards.
I'm still on the fence about getting this game. On one hand, I want to try it because it looks good and there have been so many people raving about it but on the other I've never really played any jrpg games and I'm not sure if I'd like it. Do you think I should just take the plunge???
@Sunset758 Play the demo. It's the full game with a 3 hour time limit.
Wow you Brits really must have a thing for Bandicoots or something. I mean I bought the game too, but jeez. It's such a shame that Octopath fell. It's such a stellar game. I have always felt that people don't give RPGs the chance they deserve. Most of my best experiences playing games over the last 20ish years have been in RPGs. Sure platformers and shooters and stuff can be a lot of fun, but they almost never give me the same sort of memories I remember for years to come. There are still scenes in Star Wars KOTOR 2, or Mass Effect, or Xenoblade Chronicles that I remember fondly years and years after I first saw them.
Of course, like with most things, my opinion is always among the minority...
Bought Sonic Mania Plus to get the game physically, it’s fantastic!
Sonic sold best on Switch which isn't a surprise as Sonic normally sells best on Nintendo platforms.
Didn't stock of Octopath run out in some locales? Hard to sell more if you don't have any to sell. Still, unsurprising a single platform deep RPG drops from the top spots. What does surprise me is the huge reaction to Crash....I never really saw a deep yearning for Bandicoot broiling beneath the gaming surface.
It's just kinda a weird week, a lot happened, so take it with a grain of salt.
@NEStalgia yep can get it online still but Game sold out online, and in store round my way, as did Argos judging from click and collect. Amazon have struggled to keep up think they are getting a new batch in the next day or two if what it said online the other day is still accurate.
Good thing Switch and Switch games are doing a lot better in continental Europe
UK proves that Switch still got a long way to go to reach Wii success. Need more games, a more competitive strategy, a price drop etc.
@dimi Its also the only country to back that idea up. Thr UK is the only country where the Switch hasnt set some kind of Nintendo record, wider industry record or outsold onw of the competition yet.
So if you want to base your logic off of 1 of over 200 global economies please do.
I would think the stock shortage has more to do with the drop in sales than a lack of interest. It seems to me that there is artificial scarcity in effect. There is no way they 'underestimated' the demand for this game, with not one - but two demos, soliciting feedback from players, the advertising push...
...on the flip side, it could just be that it's not a RPG focused market at this moment in the UK. It's N-Sane that Crash has held the number one spot four consecutive weeks, but people like what they like.
@Heavyarms55 I adore RPGs, especially ones that hearken back to the glory days of the SNES. It has less to do with giving them a chance, and more to do with the time commitment for me. In Canada, the Switch costs $379.99 + taxes that vary by province. $425.59 in my case. New games are $79.99, plus tax - $90. Five games > the cost of the system. So to buy a new release title at new release prices, it better be a game that I am able to sink my teeth into right away, in small enough chunks that I can afford the time to play it. RPGs are tough to play that way, for a variety of reasons. The same applies to the Skyrims and Xenoblades of the gaming landscape...just not enough time.
@dimi "Japan proves that PS4 still got a long way to go to reach PS2 success. Need more games, a more competitive strategy, a price drop etc."
And so much for Octopath. No hype can change it is a niche game in the West - it will sell more once it gets a price drop. that said this is totally a success for SE. And great to see a NEW game at full price WIN for a 3rd party on Switch!
Love SEGA is up there again. They putting in the effort on Switch.
@dimi @Ralizah "PS4 proves you don't need a competitive strategy in Japan to have success. Just need more top games and competitive strategy in the UK, EU and US"
Got Sonic Mania on launch day. Still baffles me why in-store at GAME it costs £24.99, and on their website it is £29.99
Still haven't found time to play it yet though.
@Knuckles-Fajita PS4 was the best selling console in the US in 2017 and is the best selling console so far in 2018.
@Galenmereth
Yea no lol it’s a great platformer
@Agramonte To be honest I expected a much larger drop considering its stock problems, being a retro RPG, zero publicity as well as Xbone sales...[removed] its done exceptionally well with this in mind.
@Agramonte Those arent the records I was referring to.
The Switch was the fastest selling console in the US EVER. It outsold the Xbox One in Spain. It outpaced the Wii in most countries.
Sure the PS4 is the best selling system annually but its also older with more games and far cheaper.
@hadrian There was no real stock problems in the UK. And it got tons of promotion from Nintendo.
Oh, don't think is is not "successful"... it obviously is. If you into "retro" jRPGs this is a win all around! And a "niche" game that sells this well at full price is impressive.
@Knuckles-Fajita You know that the Wii was already loosing money for Nintendo its 5th year. "Older" and "cheaper" does not equal long term success.
Fact is they both (PS4/Switch) doing well in a good number of Markets for different reasons. I even think the switch will be the best selling system in the US in JULY - at a minimum it should be. And that will be great also.
Octopath Travler sold ~4000 retail copies during its second week, bringing its cumulative retail sales total in the UK to ~14,000 copies.
Around half of Sonic Mania Plus sales are from the Switch version.
Microsoft went crazy with their Prime Day deals. Everything else got pushed down the charts pretty hard.
Are there supplies of it in UK? Because I couldn't buy mine yet in the Americas...
@Agramonte
The Wii never lost Nintendo money in its 5th year. The 3DS's first year did.
I don't think Octopath Path is in any need of a price cut - second week sales are quite good (almost as much as Bravely Second's launch week sales).
Prime Day caused other games to jump up the charts, which makes it seem like Octopath is struggling when it isnt.
"With a generous amount of Xbox One price reductions..."
'Number', not 'amount'.
@hadrian Mind your language!
@westman98 The Wii was already down to 10million and 3rd party had abandoned it. If it was healthy it would have subsidized the 3DS just like the PS4 subsidizing PSVR and the slow death on the VITA.
Bravely default took over a year to hit 1million. Zodiac Age hit the million in 4 months. So that is not saying much. The West sees this as "niche" games. That it needs or does not is not the point. Once it does get one - sales will go up.
Individual chat shows the Xbox sales didn't hit God Of War, Mario Tennis or Incredible as badly. So that is not the only reason for a 12 point drop.
I still can’t believe it got top ten.
Re.stock issues. Amazon don’t have it, only resellers have it on Game and Argos have very limited stock (the 30 stores nearest me have 8 copies between them). Not sure how much difference better stock would have made as this is a very niche game but still could have been a factor.
Edit-it is in stock on the official UK store at £49.99. It’s actually Nintendo who are distributing this in the UK. Don’t know the ins and outs of the deal but it could be they who miscalculated.
@Shufty I do apologise, I missed the entire first part of the article.
@Agramonte
The PSVR or PS Vita never received such a large permanent price reduction so early in its life. Nintendo shipped well over 12 million 3DS units at a huge loss per unit sold before the 3DS finally became profitable. The Wii's profits was never going to make up for such a loss.
Octopath is doing fine. A 60% first-to-second week drop is pretty good. A good comparison would be against last year's Persona 5, which saw very good first week sales, but saw sales drop 90%+ going into its second week.
Chart rankings isn't a very great metric to determine success; there is just a few hundred unit sales difference separating Sonic Mania Plus on Switch and Octopath Traveler.
I can see why Octopath Traveler isn't popular there since UK is more gear towards action and platformer rather than RPGs.
@OorWullie
The height of the Wii/DS days definitely had a lot of Nintendo in the UK top 10 every week.
@Agramonte
If you mean FY 2012 it seems very unlikely that’s Wii was losing money, even with a price cut. If Nintendo lost money on selling 9.84 million hardware units and 102.37 million games the entire board should have been sacked there and then 😉
The Financial report lays the blame for the losses on the rescue of the 3DS (they had to sell the hardware at a loss) and most significantly, the strength of the Yen at the time.
In case anyone is wondering, Amazon’s Prime Day deals were amazing.
Xbox One S 1TB Console Sea of Thieves Bundle with Vertical Stand/Forza Horizon 3/Minecraft Explorers Pack/Wireless Controller Minecraft Creeper Control Pad £199.99
Or
Xbox One X with Sea of Thieves, Destiny 2, Far Cry 5, and Call of Duty WWII plus a 2nd Black Controller £439
If I didn’t already have an X I’d have been all over those.
@Spoony_Tech They're in red in the paragraph above the chart listing.
@electrolite77 The board would not take responsibility for the loss - CEO/President would take responsibility -and he did.
The report lays out that they were counting on WiiU launch and revenue from 1St party sales to gain momentum. So no strategy based on Wii Sales (or the so called 102 million games) at that point - meaning it was futile. 9.84 million was after they cut it by 2 million from projections. If the Wii was moving 17 million hardware units and 210+ million software like the PS4 is slated to move in 2018 it would be a different story. They expecting a 7% profit spike.
Every time a japanese company does not meet expectations they hide behind the YEN. Just ask SONY and MATSUSHITA. Nothing new - and miraculously irrelevant when they have a hit product 🙃
I figured the sales for Octopath would really slow down once all the Squaresoft and JRPG fans got a copy. Crash has much wider appeal.
@Galenmereth Nostalgia.
@Agramonte
Oh yeah there’s no doubt it slowed down, and they were too busy making a mess of transitioning to their next systems to try and keep it going. I doubt it was losing money though, rather it was that the ‘harvest’ late in the systems life that was less than expected. It was profitable, but not enough to counteract the stupid 3DS launch. I get your point about the comparison with Sony though.
“Every time a japanese company does not meet expectations they hide behind the YEN. Just ask SONY and MATSUSHITA. Nothing new - and miraculously irrelevant when they have a hit product ”
Haha. It was crazy at one stage in 2011 but yeah, I know what you mean.
@Galenmereth Remember, UK is a country that had Doctorin the Tardis, Mr Blobby and Bob The Builder at Number 1 in the music charts. Everything I do was number 1 for years and folk didn't get bored of it. Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter was a Christmas number 1 beating Mistletoe and Wine! We as a nation are far from cultured. Proud to be a part but sometimes it's a tad...umm...basic. Hence GTA defaulting to number 1.
@electrolite77 True... 1. some of the Wii Data is muddy. 2, The Yen can be a pain and with Japan's export economy in can hit hard sometimes. And in no way am I saying the Wii was a failure - the reason that it was a success (seen as a whole) is why I used it as a comparison. My point was that price an age can help - but are not a magic pill.
Well, in the US now we blame China's "slowdown" for everything. The way Apple writes their reports you would think they started there... yet the EU buys 60% of their stuff. 😏
@GrailUK As a fellow UKer I agree and simply say, any top charts or surveys that are from this country should pretty much be ignored lol.
I think the higher price point of the Switch is a big turn off. Not enough consoles=less games selling.
@electrolite77 yeah - I almost got a X1 in the US during prime day. But I am a sucker for SEGA and really want that stupid plastic tank (and pretend the Art Book is also a factor) in the Switch Valkyria 4 limited edition.
I already need to explain that irrational $99 purchase to the wife - before I bring yet another box for under the TV 😅
@Agramonte
“Well, in the US now we blame China's "slowdown" for everything. The way Apple writes their reports you would think they started there... yet the EU buys 60% of their stuff. 😏”
There’s always a fashionable excuse isn’t there? Over here it’s Brexit. I don’t doubt that it’s going to be a disaster but it’s been very conveneitntly used by any firm that needs to do a bit of downsizing or apply a bit of wage pressure. Apple, funnily enough, we’re the first to put their prices up when the Pound collapsed.
“I already need to explain that irrational $99 purchase to the wife 😅”
It’s a great buy in my eyes but I can see it being tough to explain. At least with an X1 you could try “but you’ve been saying for ages how much we need a 4K Blu-ray player”. That tank does look awesome though.
LEGO Incredibles sales only dropped 7% from its launch week sales, which is impressive, but it's not entirely unexpected when you consider how low its launch sales were compared to previous LEGO games. It seems like the film's popularity is benefiting the game's sales trajectory.
Hopefully now Sonic Mania outsells ARMS now. The fact a love letter to Classic Sonic fans is getting outsold for what is essentially $60 shovelware really bothers me.
@Sunset758 download the demo,give it a try and if you do buy it on the back of the demo then you can import your save into the full game. If it's not your thing then at least you'll know either way without shelling out money for it and regretting it
The game is suffering from shortages across Europe, Latin America and Japan. I bet the UK is no different.
@Ralizah Good one. But PS4 and Sony are doing what they can. PS Store is cheaper and with much better discounts that Nintendo Shop. PS4 price already had several price drops and we're expecting another one. And they got enough exclusives. Nintendo can do better no?
@Knuckles-Fajita UK is not just 1 of over 200 global economies. In many aspects its the unofficial capital of video games in Europe.
@lillith See I just don't understand that way of thinking. If I am thinking about it from a cost perspective, RPGs are by far the best bang for my buck! Games like Kirby All Stars and Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze are done in 4-8 hours. But I can enjoy a good RPG for 10 times that! I'd have to play through Kirby All Stars 5 times just to get the same "value" as just clearing the Chapter 1 for each character in Octopath. Not to say that Kirby or DK are bad games, I enjoyed both. But for the cost, from a money point of view they aren't nearly worth the same.
I get not being able to devote the time - to a degree - but even a game like Xenoblade can be played through in small chunks with just a little planning. And in the worst case, the Switch has sleep mode for a reason. You can literally stop your game, any game, at any time.
Sea of Thieves is back? I wonder if it has enough content to justify purchase now.
If anyone is struggling to find a physical copy of Octopath then go to the UK Nintendo website, they have physical copy's in stock and you get some collectable cards thrown in too just ordered mine and cant wait to finally get my hands on this game!
Tap here to load 60 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...