Continuing the site’s prestigious Year-in-Review series, I’m back with an enhanced category this year that expands on my history of shouting out the developers and publishers that defined the industry the past year.
These are five of the most impressive companies that operated in the gaming space during 2023, leading the charge on what was an extremely strong year of titles. These can be developers, publishers, hardware makers and more.
Plus, fitting the theme of celebrating those that worked hard on putting out great games or related products this year. I’ve added a portion to shout out at least a couple folks at each firm integral to the projects these companies have produced. Companies aren’t monolithic. They aren’t the building, logo or executives. They are people.
Note this is usually reserved for larger, often publicly-traded, firms. I have a separate post incoming soon running down the incredible indie studios that launched amazing games in 2023 as well.
Here’s the full list, in alphabetical order!
Capcom (Japan)
Long-time Japanese publisher Capcom continued its resurgence this past year, launching two of the industry’s most recognizable, outstanding experiences. First in May, teams teams put out a remake to the classic Resident Evil 4, an enhanced version of the already classic survival horror game, becoming one of the fastest-selling Resident Evil titles and scooping up various accolades.
Then there was Street Fighter 6 in June, a return-to-form for the fighting franchise that captivated fighting games and a more casual audience. Plus, September’s Monster Hunter Now was one of my favorite mobile titles of 2023, an exceptional adaptation of the formula to a new set of devices.
Special kudos to Street Fighter 6 director Takayuki Nakayama and art director Kaname Fujioka. These two guided the general design and art of one of Capcom’s fastest-selling fighting games, and a competitive platform that will be heavily featured in official tournaments and off-book battles for years to come.
Insomniac Games (United States)
The team at Insomniac Games single-handedly carried PlayStation’s first party output in 2023, launching a major sequel in its beloved modern Spider-Man series in collaboration with one of last year’s winners in Marvel Entertainment. Plus, it showed resilience earlier this month when hackers breached its data in a cruel criminal act that rocked the industry.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which had the single biggest 24 hours of sales in PlayStation history when it released in October, felt like the pinnacle of the studio’s ethos. It’s a free-flowing take on the comics with its own spin on the hero’s journey that features both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, plus the villainous Venom which is the star of the title’s most exhilarating sequence. It’s a, hm, marvel of technical prowess and smart accessibility, with the snappiest loading and finest traversal of any game this year.
Creative lead Bryan Intihar was wonderfully sharp and candid in interviews, clearly exhibiting his deep love for the series and studio’s legacy. I’d also like to call out Senior Community Manager Aaron Jason Espinoza who runs the developer’s social accounts and is a solid follow himself.
Larian Studios (Belgium)
It was a Larian Studios world in 2023, everyone else was just living in it. The 400-person Belgian team’s appearance here comes on the strength of Baldur’s Gate 3, a decade plus effort that started in early access back in 2020 then fully launched this year in August to widespread critical acclaim and highly-deserved commercial success.
The instant classic has already won multiple Game of the Year awards, and will contend on my list when I finish it up, redefining the computer role-playing space with its scope, breadth and utter audacity of ways to play, reacting to player choices like no other game in recent memory.
One of my shout outs has to be Swen Vincke, photoed above, Larian fixture and star of The Game Awards in his shiny armor. Vincke’s talent is outmatched only by his team dedication, posting an endearing set of thank yous on social to those that made Baldur’s Gate possible. Plus, there’s Adam Smith, who led the title’s writing. The sheer amount of dialogue, story beats and permutations is enough to make one’s head spin, and Smith’s team coordinated it brilliantly.
Nintendo (Japan)
In the potential final year of Nintendo’s now illustrious Switch, it brought the heat in a portfolio of games that rival only the hybrid console’s 2017 launch window. May’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and October’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder are easy Game of the Year contenders, with the former reaching nearly 20 million units sold already and the latter being the fastest-selling mainline Super Mario.
The company rounded out its 2023 lineup with Pikmin 4, already the franchise’s lifetime top seller, Metroid Prime Remastered, Detective Pikachu Returns, WarioWare: Move It! and Super Mario RPG remake. Then, back in April, it collaborated with Illumination Entertainment on box office blast The Super Mario Bros. Movie, an awesome adaptation that exceeded most expectations both in quality and cash generated.
Usually it’s Shigeru Miyamoto that’s associated with the Italian plumber, and rightfully so. I want to point out the more unsung, tenured heroes on the team in Super Mario Bros. Wonder producer Takashi Tezuka and director Shiro Mouri. Tezuka-san is a living legend, starting at Nintendo a staggering 40 years ago. Dude was assistant director on 1985’s Super Mario Bros. for crying out loud. Mouri-san is a relative “newcomer” who worked on F-Zero during the Nintendo 64 era then certain 2D Mario and Zelda titles. These two have a magnificent track record and helped craft what I think is the greatest side-scrolling Mario since 1990’s Super Mario World (a game that Tezuka-san also led).
Remedy Entertainment (Finland)
If 2019’s Control was Remedy going for mind-bending action, October’s Alan Wake 2 was its foray into classic survival horror, and a monumental one at that. There’s nothing quite like a Remedy game as the Finnish studio’s approach is unlike any other, pushing boundaries of both technical aspects and genre-mashing to form titles that are wholly different and often groundbreaking.
This year’s masterful sequel to 2010’s Alan Wake was the culmination of a 13 year journey for the team, showing a level of sticktoitiveness that plenty of studios would abandon. Alan Wake 2 is an experience that blends suspenseful story, full motion video and over-the-shoulder mechanics in what’s the most uniquely bizarre triple-A joint of 2023.
From the above image are lead writer Sam Lake and Alan Wake 2 director Kyle Rowley, clearly enjoying themselves while winning at The Game Awards. Industry visionary Sam Lake has become the face of the studio and is prominently featured in their games, thus carving carved out a lane for Remedy’s weird, magical approach to design. As for Rowley, if there’s anything that the new Alan Wake installment should be known for in the annals of history, it’s game direction. The definition of an impressive effort by him and his team.
Sources: Company Media & Investor Websites, Kotaku (Image Credit).
Can you believe the year is a quarter over? At least it’s beautiful springtime here in the States.
Which means, most importantly of course, it’s time to spring into another monthly sales report!
Industry tracking firm Circana, formerly The NPD Group, recently published its March 2023 games industry report which tracks trends and tidbits on spending habits of domestic gamers.
Both March and the first three months showed common themes, while the PlayStation 5 hit a major milestone compared to its predecessor plus Capcom has another REmarkable hit on its hands.
Overall consumer buying on games and related categories declined 5% in March, leading to a modest 1% drop for the first quarter. Underlying this movement was weakness in mobile and certain software areas, which offset sizeable gains in the hardware segment.
Generally this indicates industry sales normalizing towards pre-pandemic levels, as consumers get back to other forms of entertainment and face certain external pressures like continued inflation. Better hardware supply is providing a much-needed boost, because those looking to buy a current generation box at retail can find one.
Circana’s monthly announcement tells a mixed story on the Content side as mobile and premium software continued downward pressure, even as new launches hit market. Within premium, Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 Remake was the month’s best seller.
On the console front, Sony’s PlayStation 5 has been on market now for 29 months. This is worth mentioning because it’s (finally) outpaced 2013’s PlayStation 4 on a launch-aligned basis. Until now, the recent cycle was lagging its predecessor. In fact, PlayStation 5 also set a new March unit sales record for the brand, a month after it did the same for a February month, implying that Sony might be able to meet its lofty goals towards this the end of its fiscal year.
“PlayStation 5 lifted hardware spending in March,” said Circana’s Mat Piscatella on Twitter. “However this growth was offset by a decline in content spending, where increases in non-mobile subscription as well as digital add-on console content were offset by lower spend across premium games, PC add-on content and mobile.”
Scroll down for more reactions to the commercial standing of the U.S. games industry in Q1.
United States Games Industry Sales (February 26th – April 1st, 2023)
During the last month, total games industry spending moved down 5% to $4.63 billion. This means the first quarter equaled $13.58 billion, down 1% to date.
The largest contributor of Video Game Content made $3.83 billion in March, a decline of 7% as it comprised 83% of the overall figure. In the same month last year, it made up 85% mainly because of softness in hardware at the time. Q1 purchasing on Content this year lowered 4% to $11.51 billion, whereas in 2022 it reached $12 billion by now.
Mobile was a driving force, moving down yet again in March albeit it’s unclear to what extent as Circana doesn’t share specifics. The report still claims mobile spend was “strong” during March, led by the casual sub-category having its best month since a year ago, outpacing even the holiday period. Top mobile earners last month were Candy Crush Saga, Roblox, Royal Match, Coin Master and Pokémon Go.
Circana said premium software also exhibited a year-on-year decline in March, despite a handful of higher profile releases. Keep in mind last year was the first full month of Elden Ring sales, a title which proved to be a bellwether throughout the first quarter and beyond, plus featured launches in the Gran Turismo and Kirby franchises.
The reanimated Resident Evil 4 Remake won March by revenue, making it the 3rd best-selling game of the entire quarter with only a week of sales in consideration. As compared to earlier titles, Resident Evil Village also topped its debut month of May 2021 while Resident Evil 3 Remake started in 6th during April 2020.
This is an impressive beginning for the beloved Resident Evil 4 Remake that parallels its global success, whereby it’s the second fastest-selling franchise game behind only Resident Evil 6 in 2012. Resident Evil 4 Remake moved 3 million copies in its first two days, and has since sold over a million more.
Beneath Hogwarts Legacy at #2 was the next new release in MLB The Show 23, which scored a third place start. The past couple incarnations of Sony San Diego’s multi-platform baseball sim have performed in this range during their debut months, hitting 4th and 1st in 2022 and 2021, respectively. This year’s title is already the 4th best-seller of 2023, made even more impressive by the fact that it only counts digital on select platforms.
The final new title on March’s list was WWE 2K23 at #7. This was a great result for Take-Two’s latest wrestling game, notably because the publisher doesn’t share its download portion. All of this is from physical sales. Its predecessor entered the arena in the same spot in March 2022 after the storied series took a much-needed year off.
Otherwise, last month’s premium ranks were occupied by titles launched in earlier periods. Major movers included Metroid Prime Remastered jumping from #21 to #13 and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga launching up to 20th from down in 41st.
Across the first three months of 2023, Hogwarts Legacy was the top-selling title followed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The two new entries in March bumped Dead Space Remake a bit to 5th. Further down, Octopath Traveler II was probably the most notable, moving from outside the Top 20 into the 17th slot.
Here’s the full rundown of premium software sellers for March and the first quarter.
Top-Selling Games of March 2023, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
Resident Evil 4 Remake
Hogwarts Legacy
MLB: The Show 23^
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The Last of Us Part 1
FIFA 23
WWE 2K23*
Elden Ring
Madden NFL 23
Mario Kart 8*
Minecraft
Octopath Traveler II
Metroid Prime Remastered*
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet*
God of War: Ragnarök
Kirby’s Return to Dreamland*
Dead Space Remake
NBA 2K23*
Sonic Frontiers
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Top-Selling Games of Q1 2023, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
Hogwarts Legacy
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Resident Evil 4 Remake
MLB The Show 23^
Dead Space Remake
Madden NFL 23
FIFA 23
Elden Ring
The Last of Us Part 1
God of War: Ragnarök
Mario Kart 8*
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet*
Fire Emblem Engage*
Minecraft
Forspoken
Sonic Frontiers
Octopath Traveler II
NBA 2K23*
Monster Hunter Rise
One Piece Odyssey
Sales within the Video Game Hardware category moved up 10% in the U.S. last month, settling at $566 million, which proved to be a substantial figure in a historical context.
“This is the second highest video game hardware spend for a March month in U.S. history, trailing only the $680 million reached in March 2021,” noted Piscatella.
That sort of near historic momentum drove Q1 sales upwards 21% to $1.5 billion. For comparison, its contribution was $1.2 billion between January and March 2022.
This signals not just a healthy supply of consoles in market, but a better-than-expected amount coming off a challenging 2022. I’ve written about how I was skeptical of Sony’s bullishness on its console business even now that supply lines are shored up. I’m beginning to think executives were onto something.
Why? In addition to PlayStation 5 now selling faster than PlayStation 4 domestically, it also set a new unit sales record last month for the PlayStation brand during a March month. Looking back historically, PlayStation Plus moved 620K units around its first month in 2005. The latest box from Sony outsold this number.
Naturally, PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console of March by both units and revenue as it gained ground compared to last year. It’s unclear if we’re looking at a record first quarter of unit sales after both February and March were both all-time PlayStation records. All Circana did was call year-on-year growth in Q1 “significant.”
Something else that’s significant, even if less so, was how Xbox Series X|S again secured second place during March as measured by dollar sales. This is the second month in a row where Microsoft’s latest console family has outpaced Nintendo on revenue. Still, Nintendo Switch continues to move off shelves in its seventh year as the runner-up during March by unit sales.
Similar to March itself, when considering the first quarter, Switch secured second place on units. Xbox Series X|S is runner-up right now on dollars. Circana tells me that the difference between the two platforms vying for second place is “very close.” Basically, it’s anyone’s game!
Rounding out the spending categories was Video Game Accessories, which didn’t move much in March or Q1 in either direction. Purchasing rose 1% last month to $239 million, making the year-to-date essentially flat at $617 million.
Game pads boosted March’s result, earning more than any other sub-segment in Accessories. Sony’s PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Wireless controller in black was the month’s top-seller, benefiting from that premium price point.
As for the year-to-date best-seller, I have a question out to Circana to see if they might be able to share it. I’d imagine it’s one of the PlayStation 5 DualSense models, based on how well the corresponding console is doing lately.
Separately, fitting with the broader narrative of a slower start for PlayStation VR2, I asked Circana specifically if they could share anything about the headset’s performance or how it compares to the first iteration back in 2016. They weren’t able to comment. Seeing this segment where it is means that I don’t think virtual reality is moving the needle, even during the first full month of sales for a premier product launch from one of the industry’s biggest players.
While somewhat disappointing, it matches my expectation that virtual reality has niche appeal, both in the past and future, until the technology catches up with where it needs to be and headsets can be standalone. There’s also the high barrier to entry on cost for something that requires a console connection.
While domestic industry sales trended downward during both March and the first quarter, there are plenty of bright spots including hardware, big budget title sales and even accessories moving in a good direction. PlayStation 5 hitting a couple major milestones is reassuring, given where supply has been for most of this generation.
“Engagement is returning to pre-pandemic levels, but spending is holding significantly above,” noted Piscatella.
Mobile is still the unknown, showing weakness for a while now, and Xbox Series X|S continues to lag where it should be against its biggest peer. Perhaps Microsoft isn’t as concerned. Circana did specifically say that subscription spending, like that on Xbox Game Pass, is still growing at this phase, although slower than it has in recent years because of cycle maturation.
I’ll now cover the first month of the new quarter before I go. April is a curious month, continuing with blockbuster releases on the premium side. Plenty of which will help with console demand.
I’m anticipating overall spending to be flat year-on-year, with upside depending on if console inventory holds up and where mobile goes.
Within Content, I’m expecting a massive debut from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. However, there’s a caveat. The latest from Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts launches on April 28th, the day before the April tracking period ends. Even so, I’m betting it’s the month’s best-seller.
Dead Island 2 releases later this week, and it’s a curious one in this context. I can see a Top 10 start, though not a Top 5. EA Sports PGA Tour can be a quiet seller, with Top 15 potential. Minecraft Legends will absolutely have its audience on brand alone, yet I’m not expecting a high chart position because a number of fans will access it via Xbox Game Pass and strategy is more of a focused genre. Lastly, Horizon Forbidden West has its Burning Shores expansion out, so that should reappear in a solid position.
For the console space, it’s impossible to bet against Sony right now. At least until Nintendo’s next Zelda game in May. Expect another win for the PlayStation 5 in April.
Thus officially ends the first quarter, a fun one at that. I greatly appreciate everyone visiting the site. Check out Piscatella’s social media post for further details directly from Circana. Be well, all!
*Digital Sales Not Included
^Xbox & Nintendo Switch Digital Sales Not Included
Note: Comparisons are year-over-year unless otherwise noted.
It’s the middle of E3, gamers have finally seen more from Elden Ring, yet nothing can stop this sales train!
The NPD Group returned today with its monthly sales report for the U.S., this time for May 2021. It’s clear the industry is continuing to build momentum, considering spending is up slightly compared to this time last year when everyone was a couple months into stay-at-home restrictions. This movement is mostly due to upticks in the content category with the performance of new releases and attraction of ongoing titles.
Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise and a collection of Mass Effect titles from Electronic Arts headlined the Content segment, while the non-stop Nintendo Switch maintained a momentous streak on the Hardware side. Both of these categories saw single-digit consumer spending growth. Accessories was the only one of the three that saw declines year-on-year, though less than double-digits as new hardware supply is impacting consumer behavior for supplementary spending.
Still, year-to-date growth is nearly 20% for the domestic industry at large to upwards of $24 billion as of May. Each category is up 15% or more for 2021 to date right now, a great number during a lighter than usual release calendar with the impact of COVID-19 still being felt on publisher timelines.
“Tremendous demand for new hardware, supply will dictate performance.” said The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella as a part of the report online. “Subscription spending is hot, no evidence of cannibalization yet. Confidence growing in market ability to [compare] to 2020.”
Speaking of those latest consoles, PlayStation 5 is officially no longer the fastest-selling ever in the United States in this its seventh month on market. It had a good run, but right now it’s feeling that inventory limit and semi-conductor shortage. A situation that might not drastically improve until 2022.
See more about that and many other details in the sections below, as I dig right into the numbers.
United States Games Industry Sales (May 2nd, 2021 – May 29th, 2021):
In total, spending across the U.S. games industry hit $4.5 billion in May 2021 which is a modest increase of 3% since last year. Which is quite good news, considering the April decline plus how last May proved to put up a sizeable fight with its own quality performance.
As I alluded to up top, 2021 to date spending rose 17% to more than $24 billion as of last month. Contributing to this growth is the combination of ongoing content and subscription strength, two new releases at the top of the software chart plus Nintendo Switch continuing as the hottest console out.
The largest segment of Content (software, add-ons etc), achieved $4.07 billion in spending during May, which is 91% of the full month’s total. This number is up 5% versus the same month in 2020, when it was $3.96 billion. For the first five months of the year, Content boosted 15% to just over $21 billion, again the largest contributor by a wide margin.
Partially pumping up this growth is the top-selling game on the software rankings, Resident Evil Village. The latest in Capcom’s long-running survival horror franchise achieved the best launch month for any game of the year. It’s immediately the second best-selling title of 2021 behind only Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. This means it’s the best single month launch for any new game this year.
Resident Evil Village topped PlayStation, Xbox and Steam individual charts here in the States during May. We also know that it’s doing well globally, considering Capcom shared that the title hit 3 million units shipped + downloaded within days of launch then tacked on another million within its first three weeks, for a total of 4 million copies to date.
Second place on the aggregate software chart went to Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Developed by BioWare under the publishing of Electronic Arts, this compilation of the first three games in the beloved space opera role-playing series reached #3 on PlayStation platforms and the second spot on Xbox.
Compare this to prior titles, as 2017’s critically-panned Mass Effect Andromeda hit third on the total chart while the divisive Mass Effect 3 led its launch month in March 2012. (One thing to note is that back then, ranks were based on unit sales while it’s dollar revenue these days.)
One major trend that stands out to me is the continued performance of MLB The Show 21, carrying over from being last month’s chart-topping smash hit. As I mentioned in April, it’s the first time the game is multi-platform rather than a PlayStation exclusive. This is proving a smart decision commercially, considering the game rounded out the Top 3 in May, outpacing the juggernaut that is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. And that doesn’t even include digital contribution on Xbox platforms! This is exactly why Major League Baseball made the call to open up its potential audience, and they are scoring big as a result.
Elsewhere on the chart is the resurgence of 2019’s Mortal Kombat 11, maintaining its spot at sixth place for the second straight month with that classic movie bump. The latest franchise film debuting in late April. Ultimately makes me wonder what’s next for developer NetherRealm Studio, especially given the team will be impacted by the shake-up at Warner Bros Media. No one knows, at least not publicly, where it will end up.
As for new titles, Biomutant is the only other May release on the aggregate chart, reaching #16. The first effort from a new studio called Experiment 101 and published by THQ Nordic, it did make the Top 10 on both PlayStation and Xbox ranks at #8 and #9 respectively.
That said, it’s chart time folks!
Top-Selling Games of May 2021, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
Resident Evil Village
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
MLB The Show 21^
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
New Pokémon Snap*
Mortal Kombat 11
Mario Kart 8*
Returnal
Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
Minecraft
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury*
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
It Takes Two
Biomutant
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Monster Hunter Rise
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
Pokémon Sword & Shield*
Top-Selling Games, 2021 Year-to-Date, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Resident Evil Village
MLB The Show 21^
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury*
Monster Hunter Rise
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Outriders
Mario Kart 8*
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Minecraft
Hardware is up next, where strength in Nintendo Switch helped to alleviate supply headwinds as category spend rose 5% year-over-year to $244 million. Last year’s figure was only a bit lower at $233 million. This led to the figure for 2021 so far to jump 36% against the same period last year, upwards of $1.9 billion in spend last month compared to $1.43 billion. Out of the three major categories, it experienced the best annualized growth by far.
The usual headliner is Nintendo Switch, and that’s no different in May. It has now led the hardware rankings by unit sales for 30 (!!) consecutive months, an ongoing record that I don’t think will be broken until new generation manufacturing ramps up during the holidays or even 2022.
Switch was also the best-selling platform as measured by dollar sales last month, and of course Nintendo retained the top spot when expanding to the full year. The steadfastness of the Japanese publisher’s hybrid hardware is more impressive every single month, leading me to wonder if those rumors about a more powerful, revised model aren’t as close as some think. (Well, some claimed it would be announced before the big E3 show, which clearly did not happen.)
On the PlayStation 5 side, The NPD Group didn’t share much in the way of details. I was able to confirm that its status as the fastest-selling console in tracked history has ended at six months. Its usurper is the Game Boy Advance, which had a tremendous holiday back in 2001. This is more due to production than demand, of course, a theme that you’ve seen me mention many times recently.
Performance of Xbox Series X|S isn’t clear from May’s report, other than Piscatella’s comments about very high demand. It seems like Microsoft is outputting the least amount of consoles, though that’s complete speculation. And we won’t know, because it won’t ever again share hardware units sold, instead opting towards Xbox Game Pass subscription and other player engagement statistics.
The final category is Accessories, which had the toughest time during May 2021. Monthly consumer spending here dipped 8% to a total of $142 million versus last year’s $154 million. No doubt impacted by its correlation with new hardware production, as new buyers often scoop up accessories with their purchases of a shiny new gaming box.
Still, for the year as a whole, Accessories segment crossed $1 billion in spending during May, which is 17% higher than the $877 million back in 2020.
As I confirmed directly with Piscatella, Sony’s White DualSense controller was the top-selling game pad of the month, reflecting a consistent trend since the PlayStation 5’s start. Personally I say it’s well-deserved as a great piece of modern tech, enhancing the experience of traditional input controls.
The report did share a bit of detail into Steering Wheels too! This sub-category jumped 45% year-on-year. Apparently the Logitech G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel is.. hm, driving this growth, since it’s the year’s top seller as of the latest report.
Another month, another big sales reaction piece!
Domestic spending proved resilient last month, as we’re in an era where subscriptions and ongoing content bolster the traditional delivery methods and console generational cycles. Demand for gaming is still high even as vaccinations increase, it’s just a matter of hardware companies keeping up with output. Which is somewhat out of their control, given the global chip situation.
For even more behind the numbers, including a variety of different software charts and further reading, check out Piscatella’s helpful thread here or The NPD Group’s website.
Moving into the heat of the summer here in the U.S., June’s release schedule boasts some of the biggest platform exclusives of the year in PlayStation 5’s combat platformer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart then Mario Golf Super Rush from Nintendo, which I anticipate will both chart very well. Bandai Namco’s stylish action game Scarlet Nexus also debuts later this month, will be curious if it can garner enough interest here to gain a Top 10 spot.
Anything surprise you in May? Have you played any of the new games charting here? What’s your prediction for best-selling title in June? As always, thanks for stopping by. Be safe and stay well, all!
*Digital Sales Not Included
^Xbox Digital Sales Not Included
Sources: Capcom, Chris Lynch (Photo Credit), Onur Binay (Photo Credit), The NPD Group.
While vaccinations in the United States thankfully continue to increase, so too does the rate at which people around the country spend money on video games.
Industry tracking firm The NPD Group released its March 2021 monthly report on consumer spending across the games industry today. And it’s a significant one for a number of reasons.
First, it marks a full year of tracking since the pandemic began. Comparisons to last year will now be reflective of the spending burst that began during the initial stay-at-home restrictions around March 2020.
On the software side, Activision’s Call of Duty regains top honors while new releases from Japanese publishers Capcom and Square Enix complete the Top 3. Then, one Mario spin-off franchise hits a major milestone within its genre. While Nintendo Switch’s continues its ongoing dominance atop the hardware rankings, PlayStation 5 maintains its quick start since launching back in November. Sony also retains leadership in the accessory space with its latest controller iteration.
While technically this March report does include a handful of days from February and April, continued quarantine efforts drove record levels and a substantial first quarter, with consumers spending nearly $15 billion on games, consoles and accessories during the first three months of the year.
Before diving into the report, I want to express my thanks to everyone working or volunteering during this still very difficult time. Please be safe and well. And hopefully find some downtime during which you can enjoy games!
Now. The numbers, please.
United States Games Industry Sales (February 28th, 2021 – April 3rd, 2021):
The above chart courtesy of NPD Group tracks total spending in the U.S. games industry over time since the beginning of 2020. As you’ll see, March 2021 topped $5.6 billion which is an increase of 18% since the same month last year. Which is a huge figure, considering Nintendo launched its record-breaking Animal Crossing: New Horizons at that time and nearly everyone was home for the entire time.
What this means is that March 2021 set a new record for a March month across the history of tracking, dating back to the 1990s.
When expanding to the first three months of 2021, sales saw an increase of 30% to $14.9 billion. While solid, this first quarter growth actually sounds more impressive than it is considering the first two months last year were early coronavirus days for the country.
Video Game Content i.e. software and related revenue from subscriptions category is the largest contributor, as it rose 12% to $4.6 billion in March. For Q1 as a whole, these sales jumped 25% to $12.8 billion.
After a month in second place, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War retakes the top position on the overall software list. It was the best-selling title for both the first quarter and the prior 12 month time frame.
Meanwhile, Capcom’s Monster Hunter Rise captured the second spot after it launched exclusively on Nintendo Switch in late March. The latest launch in the company’s second largest franchise immediately became #4 on the year’s top sellers list. Not to mention it’s already achieved a startling statistic. As measured by dollar sales, with just over a week of tracking, it’s the second best-selling Monster Hunter game in series history behind only 2018’s Monster Hunter World, which is Capcom’s number one seller of all time.
Rounding out the Top 3 on the overall chart is Outriders, for which I’ll shamelessly plug my recent review. The brand new shlooter IP published by Square Enix also debuted at the 3rd spot on both PlayStation and Xbox platform charts, causing it to land as the 10th best-selling title overall during 2021 to date. That’s after only three days on sale plus without the consideration of downloads via Xbox Game Pass, which is only counted in the spending categories rather than allocated to individual releases. This successful start, especially for something that isn’t a sequel or part of a known series, partly proves that games sell just as well when launching into subscription services. If not better, due to word-of-mouth and peer recommendations.
As expected, Nintendo-published projects littered the overall ranks due to the continued pace of Switch sales and amazing attach rates. The most notable being Mario Kart 8, the greenest of evergreen titles. During March 2021, Mario Kart 8 became the best-selling racing game in tracked history. That includes the Deluxe edition, though not any digital portion of that or the base version! The prior record holder was Mario Kart Wii, released back in 2008.
NPD Group Analyst Mat Piscatella commented on the software category in particular. “In content, Nintendo evergreens continue to impress,” he said. “Subscriptions are here to stay, will continue to grow and gain importance. No significant downsides evident, plenty of upside suggested.”
Top-Selling Games of March 2021, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Monster Hunter Rise
Outriders
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury*
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Mario Kart 8*
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
Super Mario 3D All-Stars*
Minecraft
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
Pokémon Sword & Pokemon Shield*
Mortal Kombat 11
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
Madden NFL 21
NBA 2K21*
Super Mario Party*
FIFA 21
Top-Selling Games, 2021 Year-to-Date, U.S., All Platforms (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury*
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Monster Hunter Rise
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Mario Kart 8*
Minecraft
Madden NFL 21
Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
Outriders
When it comes to the Hardware category in the U.S., Japan rules once again. Accelerated by popular Nintendo and Sony platforms, domestic spending on consoles boosted 47% to $680 million in March 2021. That’s yet another March record, beating out the $552 million from the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 era of March 2008.
For the first quarter this year, sales in this category reached $1.4 billion. Naturally, this is a significant jump since the late generation cycle months of 2020, an increase of 81% year-on-year.
Nintendo Switch earned the top spot as measured by both units sold and dollars generated. This marks the 28th consecutive month that the hybrid platform has led by unit sales, all the more impressive given Nintendo’s anti-discount strategy. Switch also led the first quarter by number of units sold.
Out of its main competitors, PlayStation 5 is faring the best during its early days despite inventory constraints due to chip shortages plus a notable lack of exclusives during its launch window. Sony’s platform is officially the fastest-selling console in the history of NPD Group tracking, as measured by both unit and dollar sales during the first 5 months after launch. While the report wasn’t specific, I believe its predecessor held the spot previously.
There’s no word specifically on Xbox Series X|S performance other than mentioning that new generation boxes are moving off retail shelves as fast as manufacturers can ship them. It sounds like Microsoft’s production has been hit the hardest by the global chip situation, since supply dictates commercial fulfillment at this stage.
Gaming Accessories are the final category here tracked in this monthly report. NPD Group shared that it also boasted a historic month, hitting a March record spending amount of $300 million. That’s up 26% since March 2020.
Across the first three months of the year, accessory revenue climbed 42% to $717 million in total.
During both the month and quarter, the standard PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller variant led all other accessories in parallel to the success of its corresponding hardware.
For those keeping score, that’s a set of March month records for total, hardware and accessory spending during March 2021. It’s a combination of mobile gains, new hardware sell outs, subscription revenues and flagship software launches from major publishers bolstering last month to record levels across these areas.
“[The] market might be more smoothly transitioning to cyclical growth than I’d expected,” Piscatella added. “What happens next depends on the chip situation and content development; supply as or more important than demand.”
I’m anticipating very good if not great momentum in the coming months, as the release schedule picks up especially on the third party and PlayStation side. Even knowing a lot of game delays pushed to later this year or into 2022. April releases include MLB The Show 2021, now multi-platform and always a steady seller, in addition to the revived Pokémon Snap. Combine this with the bulk of Outriders sales plus Monster Hunter Rise momentum and I wouldn’t be surprised to see April generate certain records of its own.
Until then, please wear a mask, wash your hands and be safe everyone. I’m out for now!
April 2020 will go down forever as a tragic, horrifying month globally for many people enduring the coronavirus outbreak. My condolences to all those impacted, I wish you all the best during these trying times.
One silver lining at least is that video games are able to provide at least some relief from the monotony of social distancing and lock-down orders. And if sales are any indication, tons of people are most certainly getting their money’s worth.
Last month was a monumental one for video game industry sales, both domestically in the States and globally across digital marketplaces. It literally might have a record-breaking amount of records broken.
Just today both U.S. industry tracking firm The NPD Group and global digital data provider SuperData reported their respective figures for April, in what’s one of the single most newsworthy days in the history of gaming sales nerdom.
Rather than a more comprehensive deep dive into the myriad of stats, we’re going to do a rapid-fire recap of all the ridiculous statistics revealed today alongside lists of top-selling games both in the U.S. and globally by digital revenue. Then, I’ll get through a brief bit of commentary before we say goodbye.
Ready? Time to hit record.
Last month was a monumental one for video game industry sales, both domestically in the States and globally across digital marketplaces. It literally might have a record-breaking amount of records broken.
United States Games Industry Sales (April 5th to May 2nd):
Overall games industry spending increased a crazy 73% since this time last year, generating $1.5 billion. This is a record high for an April month, eclipsing that of April 2008’s $1.2 billion.
Monthly game software sales jumped 55% since April 2019, reaching the highest level ever for an April at $662 million. This beats out the previous record-holder again from April 2008, which totaled $642 million.
Within software, the most notable record is for Final Fantasy 7 Remake which led the monthly rankings chart and set a new franchise high for launch month dollar and unit sales, eclipsing that of Final Fantasy XV from 2016. Square Enix’s latest JRPG re-imagining is immediately the 3rd top seller of 2020 so far plus the best-selling PlayStation 4 title on the year.
It wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t mention Nintendo’s flagship hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons, even if the only record it set is short-term. The cute simulation and lifestyle game was ranked #2 on both the April and 2020 to date software charts. Its mini-accomplishment is that it’s the top-seller on Nintendo Switch as a platform over the past 12 months.
In terms of commercial successes we talk about every month, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was the 2nd top-seller of April and is still the highest ranked game of both the last 12 months and 2020 itself. During its 7th month run since release, it’s the 4th fastest-selling game ever tracked by NPD Group. That fits my description of an “almost” record, so I’ll allow it.
Moving like Jagger to a game that’s the opposite of talked about each month, Just Dance 2020 is the quickest selling game in Ubisoft’s long-running franchise since Just Dance 2014. It improved its ranking on the monthly software chart, now at #11 in April after boogying to the 17th spot in March.
Quickly flipping to the hardware category, overall dollar spend is so close to being a record that it gets like half a point. Console sales reached $420 million during April 2020, up a whopping 163% versus this time last year. April 2008 refused to be dethroned this time, as it maintains the best April month ever when it generated $427 million.
Within the Hardware segment, Nintendo Switch held the #1 spot for the 17th straight month. Here comes the real doozy: During 2020 so far, its sales are the highest of any single platform in the history of domestic tracking for the first 4 months of a year outpacing even the Wii over a decade ago in April 2009. Incredible, especially in a time with supply concerns.
Not only that! Dollar sales of the “Big 3” consoles in the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One all increased more than 160% year-on-year with Xbox One generating the best growth although NPD Group did not reveal an exact figure. From a unit sales standpoint, each of these hit record April amounts according to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter:
Switch: 808,000
PlayStation 4: 411,000
Xbox One: 329,000
Last category here is accessories and game pads, which generated $384 million in monthly sales for an increase of 49% since April 2019. Record alert! Consumer spend on game pads reached a high for an April month, clearing almost twice as much as last year’s amount. PlayStation 4’s Dual Shock 4 black controller topped April’s list, while Nintendo’s Switch Pro Controller is still the best for 2020.
Want another record? I’ve.. heard we got one for ya. Spending on headsets and headphones achieved the best April month in history, beating out that of April 2018. Last month also boasted record results for Steering Wheels and Game Cards. Note that we didn’t hear exact figures for any of these sub-categories, only that they had their best April months of all time.
I feel like we all need a breather after so many records. Let’s look at the full domestic software charts for both last month and year-to-date before going global.
Top-Selling Games of April 2020, U.S. (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
NBA 2K20
Grand Theft Auto V
Resident Evil 3 Remake
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered
MLB: The Show 20
Madden NFL 20
Red Dead Redemption 2
Just Dance 2020
FIFA 20
Mortal Kombat 11
Borderlands 3
Predator: Hunting Grounds
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Persona 5: Royal
Need for Speed: Heat
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Top-Selling Games of 2020 So Far, U.S. (Physical & Digital Dollar Sales):
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Animal Crossing: New Horizons*
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
NBA 2K20
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
MLB: The Show 20
Grand Theft Auto V
Resident Evil 3 Remake
Madden NFL 20
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*
Gaming allows individuals to escape into new, exciting worlds where they don’t have to worry about a pandemic. Or they can at least virtually fight back against one.
Worldwide Digital Games Industry Sales (April 2020)
Expanding to the global games market, let’s check out digital sales estimates from SuperData via its usual monthly report. In general, this only includes digital downloads and additional revenue through in-game transactions thus excludes physical copies sold.
And again to confirm, these are internal estimates as opposed to say publisher data.
Spending on digital games around the globe surpassed a monumental $10.5 billion during April 2020 which is the highest month ever and growth of 17% since last year. Ding ding. Another record!
Driving this figure was a jump in console sales of 42%, mobile growth of 14% then PC sales moving 12% higher. Of course this is temporarily bolstered by lock-down orders, as gaming has become a popular way to defeat the inevitable boredom that sets in from staying home. The question becomes how long can it last?
Diving into more individual game results, usual suspect Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold 3.6 million digital copies in April which is down slightly from the record 5 million in its launch month of March. Still, it was the top-selling console game on the worldwide chart. Here’s this month’s record: After only two months on market, it’s already the top-selling Nintendo Switch title as measured by both digital unit sales estimates and dollar revenue from downloads.
The aforementioned Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which was the best-seller in the States during April, achieved the 2nd spot on the global digital rankings. Since we’re certainly counting, its total of 2.2 million digital downloads set multiple records for a launch month. This is the best digital result within the franchise ever, plus it’s the fastest-selling PlayStation exclusive to date beating out Marvel’s Spider-Man in 2018 by a slim margin. A win is a win!
While not a record, Resident Evil 3 Remake achieved another notable result during April 2020. Capcom’s latest remake in the long-running horror franchise eclipsed 1.3 million digital units sold during this its launch month, slightly below the 1.4 million of its predecessor in 2019’s Resident Evil 2 Remake.
Back to the records. Last month, League of Legends hit its best player count of all time and spending in Grand Theft Auto V on in-game content reached its highest level ever. Ongoing games continue in their appeal, as people gather virtually to either compete or work together collaboratively.
This leads into the full charts from SuperData estimates for global digital sales. Take it away, fancy image.
Top-Grossing Console Games of April 2020, Worldwide, Digital Sales:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
FIFA 20
Grand Theft Auto V
NBA 2K20
DOOM Eternal
Fortnite
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Resident Evil 3 Remake
Alright. I believe I’m fully on record proving how April was a record-breaking month. Counting them up, there are more than a dozen here which is likely some sort all-time high.
My reactions? No one could have predicted this, not even as recently as a couple months ago. This is absolutely unprecedented, even if for the wrong reasons during a tragic time for our world history.
Gaming as much as any other medium is benefiting because of the feeling of connection caused by sharing on social media or gearing up with others online. There’s local play, which helps pass the time with the very few loved ones with which we can spend time. Gaming allows individuals to escape into new, exciting worlds where they don’t have to worry about a pandemic. Or they can at least virtually fight back against one.
It’s not much in the way of analysis to say that April was one of if not the most noteworthy sales months this generation. What’s difficult to say is how long it will last with all the uncertainty surrounding the scary longevity of coronavirus and the potential for a vaccine. I’m thankful that people have games to entertain, especially those on the front lines working hard for our safety, and that for now many have enough disposable income to spend.
As the summer starts here and new PlayStation 4 games like The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima release then Nintendo launches Paper Mario: The Origami King, where will the broader economy be, what level of unemployment will we see and how will sales look going into the marketing cycle for next generation consoles?
Let’s celebrate April for what it was, while acknowledging we have a long way to go outside of games.
As always, please check out NPD Group Analyst Mat Piscatella’s thread for many more details plus friend of the site Jeff Grubb’s recap on Venture Beat on the domestic report, then SuperData’s site for the global update. Thanks for reading, be healthy!
^Digital PC Sales Not Included, *Digital Sales Not Included, #Digital Sales on Consoles Included
Sources: Media Play News, NPD Group, Square Enix, SuperData Estimates, Venture Beat.
Every year, companies across the games industry compete for audience’s time and hard-earned dollars. Within this piece, I’ll highlight those bigger publishers and developers that I believe consistently provided the best value for gamers.
2019 marked a number of international successes in particular. Major Japanese companies featured prominently in mind-share, from hardware manufacturing to software hits, while the world’s largest gaming company broke through a difficult regulatory environment. At the same time, publishers of varying sizes from other regions produced impressive titles (some of which I’ll cover in my next post on the Independent Studios of the Year.)
Here are my picks for the five most impressive gaming companies throughout the year, in alphabetical order.
Annapurna Interactive (United States)
Annapurna Interactive has become a premier publisher for independent video games, and I’ll play almost anything it puts out these days. This subsidiary of film producer Annapurna Pictures backs a number of exceptional, unique projects. And more importantly, has enough funding behind it to smartly market its games through a combination of grassroots campaigns and word-of-mouth.
After an amazing 2018 with the likes of Florence and Donut County, Annapurna’s output this year solidified its standing as the type of deft publisher that knows how to pick ’em.
Its standout 2019 title is Outer Wilds from Mobius Digital, a new kind of space exploration game that’s one of the highest rated and widely praised projects of the entire year. Within my review, I praised the sense of wonder I felt navigating the cosmos and discovering the story of its alien solar system and the intelligent life that inhabits it. Even if I had a tough time with its controls, reflecting back I absolutely believe it deserves its recognition.
Other Annapurna joints this year include Telling Lies from Sam Barlow, a drama presented via full-motion video, then “interactive album” Sayonara Wild Hearts by Simigo. The latter of which is a one-of-a-kind production, blending pop music with traditional endless runner mechanics for a tight, memorable experience. Most recently, Annapurna published the wacky Wattam from Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy) and Funomena. I haven’t played it, though critics note its creativity; how it piques imagination through its visuals and interactions.
Finally, it also brought a classic to PC for the first time: thatgamecompany’s Journey, originally out in 2012 for PlayStation 3. Annapurna shared arguably the best independent game ever made to a wider audience. It’s a must-play. For everyone.
This line-up is representative of the types of projects Annapurna hand selects. Those that are sometimes experimental, often unique, frequently emotional and always worth a look.
Capcom (Japan)
The resurgence of one of Japan’s most storied gaming companies accelerated in 2019, due to both the quality of its output and sheer quantity of support especially for the Nintendo Switch.
Capcom produced two of the year’s most well-regarded new third person games in Resident Evil 2 Remake and Devil May Cry 5 then produced an expansion to its best-selling game of all time in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.
Starting strong of the gate in January, its re-imagining of 1998 survival horror game Resident Evil 2 is a Game of the Year contender with its enhanced visuals and modernized mechanics. I posed a question in the beginning of 2019, wondering if this version could outsell its predecessors in the long-running series. Within a week on market, Capcom shipped 3 million units. A month later, over four million. Then earlier this month, it passed the original’s lifetime total by eclipsing the 5 million unit mark.
Essentially, it took under a year for the remake to outsell the original. Between its critical and commercial success, Resident Evil 2 illustrates Capcom’s renewed focus on incubating legacy IP.
Both Devil May Cry 5 in March and September’s Monster Hunter World: Iceborne continued this streak of critical and financial accomplishment. The former hit 2 million copies sold within a couple weeks, already two thirds of what Devil May Cry 4 sold lifetime and “reinvigorating” the franchise according to Capcom execs, while the latter vaulted to 2.5 million in sales within a week.
Separate of these new projects, Capcom pumped out a number of legacy games on a variety of platforms. Onimusha: Warlords, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy plus a set of Resident Evil and Devil May Cry ports for Nintendo Switch.
Between creating successful newer releases and rounding out 2019’s portfolio with catalog titles, Capcom is back in the good graces of fans while also appealing to a broader audience especially with its Monster Hunter series. All it needs now is a great new fighting game! Perhaps in 2020.
Nintendo (Japan)
It should come as no surprise that Nintendo is here. In fact, if I was ranking the list, it would likely capture the top spot.
Even if it wasn’t Nintendo’s strongest first party software year in the Switch generation, which I’d argue was its first year in 2017, its consistency of output is best in business right now. Not only that, Nintendo Switch is the place for third parties to release both new projects and older ports, and especially fruitful for independent teams.
The Kyoto-based company also released a new more compact, handheld-only version of its hybrid console in September. Dubbed the Nintendo Switch Lite, its release contributed to Switch hardware sales jumping to 41.67 million consoles this year plus the company experiencing its best week of Switch sales ever during the Thanksgiving holiday.
It’s impossible to comment on all of its 2019 output, so let’s list them to prove the point.
There’s the internal or “second party” partnership stuff. Tetris 99. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. Yoshi’s Crafted World. Super Mario Maker 2. Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Luigi’s Mansion 3. And its most significant 2019 release, Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Then the third party exclusives. Cadence of Hyrule. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. Astral Chain. Daemon X Machina. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Plus the multi-platforms or ports of older games. There are a ton of these. I promise. Titles like Dragon Quest Builders 2, Mortal Kombat 11, Cuphead, Ori and the Blind Forest and even The Witcher 3 are all now playable on Switch.
Not to mention mobile. Mario Kart Tour. Dr. Mario World. And the experimental. Labo Toy-Con VR Kit. Ring Fit Adventure.
Even a, gasp, pretty good video game movie in Detective Pikachu!
It’s cliche to say that Nintendo literally makes something for everyone. Shoot, in many cases there’s a LOT for everyone. But it’s true. And it’s playable at home or on the go, sometimes even on a phone. We expect Nintendo’s internal teams and close partnerships to produce amazing content. It’s the third parties and indies that are really starting to bolster the Switch experience.
Sure, there’s room for improvement. Its online service is nowhere near its competitors. It should offer individual legacy titles rather than only as a library. Its mobile app is laughable. Its operating system lacks basic functionality. We still have to use friend codes.
These aside, Nintendo’s at its best when it both offers great exclusive titles from its talented studios that appeal to all kinds of gamers plus experiments with use cases for its technology. Its leadership like President Shuntaro Furukawa, Director and legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto and more locally Nintendo of America lead Doug Bowser (since the retirement of Reggie Fils-Ame) aren’t afraid to get weird and have fun. This and its sheer consistency on the software development side are the defining characteristics of 2019’s most impressive gaming company.
Respawn Entertainment [Electronic Arts] (United States)
I’m going to cheat a bit here because I want to shout out a particular team within a broader parent firm for its excellent work. Respawn Entertainment, which was purchased by Electronic Arts a couple years back, is responsible for two of the year’s blockbuster titles. One of which came out of nowhere, the other a foray into a new genre for the studio.
First, there was Apex Legends. Most industry commenters claimed that the battle royale fad had passed. That there was no room for real competition to the likes of Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), both of which still have large, dedicated audiences. Then Respawn stealthily released Apex Legends as a free digital download on a random Monday in early February and proved everyone wrong.
A first-person game set in the Titanfall universe where teams fight for dominance, Apex Legends player counts skyrocketed within days as it enraptured gamers with smart accessibility options, a balanced hero system and top-notch mechanics. One million within 8 hours. 2.5 million in a day. 10 million in 72 hours! It made $92 million in sales within its first month. And it’s free! That means players weren’t merely downloading it, they liked it so much that they wanted to spend money on its cosmetics.
Since then, it’s boasted over 50 million players. A success story for the industry in showing that new concepts can be rewarded even in a market flooded with participants.
Respawn’s second massive project this year was Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. To say Electronic Arts has been inconsistent in publishing Star Wars games is an understatement. That is, until now.
Fallen Order released in mid-November to widespread critical acclaim. It’s a third person action game with satisfying lightsaber combat, an intriguing story and diverse environments seemingly pulled right from the movies. Directed by God of War veteran Stig Asmussen, it’s undoubtedly one of the best Star Wars games to date plus a candidate for year-end accolades despite some unfortunate technical problems. It’s also a surprising move for Respawn to shift to third-person action when it’s solely made first-person shooters in the past.
While we don’t have broad sales numbers for Fallen Order, I wrote recently about how it was the second best-selling title domestically in its release month and nearly achieved the best launch ever for a Star Wars game, trailing only 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront. It’s already entered the Top 10 sellers of the year, and I anticipate that rank to improve when we hear December’s data.
By developing a surprise hit in a competitive genre alongside a critical darling in one of the world’s most beloved franchises, Respawn clearly earned its spot as one of the most compelling and accomplished studios of 2019.
Tencent (China)
It’s ironic how quietly Chinese media conglomerate Tencent dominates the global games industry. Because its operations are mostly in the mobile and PC market, especially popular titles within the Asia Pacific region, Tencent is the biggest gaming company in the world by revenue (near a whopping $20 billion during 2018) with less mind-share than most of its competitors.
Think of a big game or publisher, it’s likely that Tencent is involved with it. League of Legends? It owns Riot Games. Clash of Clans? Holds 84% of Supercell. Fortnite? A 40% stake in Epic Games. PUBG? Nearly 12% of Bluehole at last count. Activision? Ubisoft? Small holdings in both.
Even stakes in smaller teams like Path of Exile creator Grinding Gear Games and Frontier Developments, maker of Jurassic World: Evolution and Elite Dangerous, round out Tencent’s plethora of investments.
This isn’t even to mention its own games like mobile racing game QQ Speed or crazy popular multiplayer game on phones Honor of Kings, released in the West as Arena of Valor. If we’re talking the smartphone market, there’s none more impressive than Tencent.
Beyond that, I’m placing it on my 2019 list is for multiple reasons other than its significant holdings: More because of its navigation of China’s difficult regulatory environment, the smash release of Call of Duty: Mobile and its recent partnership with Nintendo.
It’s always a tricky regulatory situation in China, so a quick recap of the most recent events. Back in April 2018, the country instituted a freeze on new releases in the world’s largest gaming market due to addiction concerns,. This obviously impacted Tencent’s performance and market capitalization, losing a unfathomable $250 billion in valuation at one point. After ten long months, the government began approving new titles.
While Tencent earned approvals for smaller new titles, it didn’t for one of its biggest money-makers in PUBG Mobile which has been downloaded over 600 million times. The company shut down the game in May, though simultaneously released a new one in the same genre called Game for Peace (or Peacekeeper Elite in English).
During its first month, Game for Peace generated $70 million in sales. When combined with the $76 million from its PUBG Mobile counterpart, these quickly became the world’s top smartphone games by revenue. Since then, total global sales have passed $1.5 billion from these games, according to Sensor Tower. This is fully representative of Tencent’s savvy in bouncing back from the government freeze.
Similarly, Tencent’s global expansion is underway now with the release of Call of Duty: Mobile back in October. Based on the uber popular first-person military franchise owned by Activision Blizzard, this version was actually developed by Tencent’s internal team Timi Studio. It achieved a record during its first week on market with 100 million downloads and has since passed 170 million while raking in $87 million in sales. Aligning with a Western publisher is the type of decision that allows Tencent to benefit from an audience it otherwise couldn’t reach.
The final move is its recent partnership with Nintendo to sell the Switch in China, a market that’s notoriously difficult for console gaming. Just a few weeks ago, the Switch launched there albeit without much of a library. Only New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is available, with titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey in the more immediate pipeline and others slated for next year. Niko Partners estimates 100,000 in Switch console sales during this month alone, then a growing install base to where Switch could be the local market leader by 2022.
After a tumultuous 2018 under local regulations putting a halt to new titles, Tencent emerged in 2019 to continue its dominance in the smartphone game space especially in the East. Combine this with its global expansion alongside a smart alliance with Nintendo, and it’s the last on this prestigious list of gaming companies.
Working Casual’s Year-in-Review is far from over! Next up will be Independent Studios of the Year. Until then, thanks for reading.
Sources: Business Insider, Business Wire, Company investor and media sites, Newzoo, Niko Partners, PC Gamer, Sensor Tower, The Verge.
Alright, maybe just a little. Because it’s that time again. The most fun you’ll have all season. It’s way too hot (at least here in the States) to go outside, so spend the next couple weeks as one should right now: hanging in the air conditioning reading through financial reports and analyzing fancy numbers, of course.
If that’s your type of thing, you’re in the right spot. I’ve compiled the closest thing to a full list anywhere in the world for upcoming earnings dates from major global gaming, tech and media companies. I know you’re busy. Hope this will keep things organized.
You’ll notice something a bit different this time. Select rows are listed as not reporting this quarter. This is the result of trying to document as many names as possible, though not every international company reports quarterly. Some only share numbers semi-annually. I’ll keep them on the list for quick reference or access to the investor site, though we’ll have to be even more patient to see how those in particular are doing.
Full calendar image is above, then there’s the Google Doc link below that has each of them listed individually. A number don’t have set dates yet, though we have a general sense based on trends. Scroll further to see which three companies I’m monitoring closely this quarter. Truly appreciate your visit, please check back for updates!
The Japanese gaming and consumer conglomerate has been bolstered lately by excellent results within its gaming division. While software and services are growth engines this late in the current cycle, I’m actually intrigued by how hardware is holding up since the PlayStation brand is maintaining better momentum than anticipated. Namely, will this be the quarter where Sony’s successful PlayStation 4 console eclipses the 100 million units shipped? If so, it would be only the sixth piece of hardware to ever cross this coveted threshold. two of them being earlier Sony consoles with the original PlayStation at over 102 million and PlayStation 3 achieved a whopping 155 million. Based on the lifetime sales of just under 97 million and the company’s trend of moving approximately 3 million or more PS4 in the past couple quarters ending June, there’s certainly a chance it reaches this milestone. Though I’d bet it happens later in the summer.
Capcom Co Ltd (9697): Thursday, August 1st
The resurgence of Osaka-based Capcom is one of the most uplifting stories of the current generation. Last year’s.. hm, yes I’m doing it. Last year’s monstrous hit Monster Hunter: World continues its momentum as it amazingly hit 13 million units sold just this past week, widening its margin as the company’s best-selling game ever. January’s Resident Evil 2 Remake is the 5th best-selling title of the 1st half of 2019 in the States according to NPD, and has eclipsed 4 million units at last count. March’s Devil May Cry V showed well at launch and is estimated to be nearing the 3 million unit threshold. Continued sales of these should make for solid results in the quarter ending June, though I’m actually more interested in where executives go with guidance. Especially in light of Monster Hunter World’s Iceborne expansion due out September. And where’s the company going with its fighting game approach? Will it factor in a brand new Resident Evil entry, perhaps for early next calendar year? We likely won’t know for sure until later, though any change in guidance can give us enough information to at least speculate!
Super League Gaming (SLGG): Mid August
Yup. This is a new one. eSports community and content platform Super League Gaming is the latest in gaming initial public offerings (IPOs), raising proceeds of nearly $23 million back in Q1. It’s an intriguing, modern business model in a growing industry where the firm operates more as a community platform for amateur players rather than solely competitive games for pros. Effectively highlighting content creators on social media, hosting events and offering a technology platform to organize all of it. Based on its first quarterly filing as a public company back in April, revenues nearly doubled and it’s established multiple partnerships with companies like Best Buy, Logitech and the aforementioned Capcom. With annual revenue estimated at $1 million, I’m curious to see how it continues to monetize this type of community approach especially since it’s aligned with major titles like League of Legends and Minecraft.
Sources: Company Investor Relations Websites & Press Releases, Sony PR, Capcom PR, NPD Group, Super League Gaming, Games Press.
It’s a new year, which means another earnings season is underway!
Do you like numbers? And charts ? And corporate buzzwords like “tailwinds” or “compound growth?” Then you’ll dig the next few weeks as we’ll hear reports from major companies around the globe with updates on how each of them are doing.
(And if you don’t, you probably wouldn’t be here amirite?)
With a new earnings season comes my usual post, featuring essentially a calendar of events that no one visiting here wants to miss. Above is a snapshot, while below gives you access to a Google Doc for easy navigation to each investor site.
There’s been a lot of chatter lately about Nintendo $NTDOY and whether it can hit its lofty hardware target of 20 million Switch units sold during its fiscal year ending in March. I’m on the record as being optimistic it will hit this goal, especially after December’s NPD sales report showing it was the best-selling console in the States during 2018. However I’m actually more interested in its software figures after hearing how wellSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate is tracking in particular after its December release.
In my recent piece about Capcom’sResident Evil 2 Remake, I explained why I’m upbeat on the Japanese publisher’s latest title. Today the company revealed it’s shipped 3 million copies of this remake in its first week on sale, eclipsing the launch of Resident Evil 7 in 2017 which moved around 2.5 million. Between this resurgence and the ongoing support of Monster Hunter: World, I anticipate strong results when the firm reports on Monday, February 4th.
Major U.S. publisher Electronic Arts $EA has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. Word of another Star Wars game being cancelled broke recently, its upcoming blockbuster game from BioWare called Anthem had a rocky demo this past weekend plus now the company has caved to pressures in Belgium to stop offering “loot box” transactions there for its FIFA franchise after local regulators deemed them gambling. The key here won’t be its actual results on February 5th, but instead its future guidance and overall tone when answering analyst questions. Especially with Anthem releasing next month.
What companies are you interested in hearing from this time around? Did I miss any that you want me to cover? Feel free to leave a message here or on Twitter, I’d be happy to chat. Thanks for stopping by.
-Dom
Sources: Company Investor Relations Websites/Press Releases, NPD Group, VentureBeat, Erica Griffin on YouTube, Kotaku, GamesIndustry.Biz, BioWare.
The blog is no longer dead. You might call it.. undead!
Fittingly, Capcom kicks off a brand new year with another blockbuster January release, which is becoming its signature, with today’s launch of the remake/remaster/re-imagining of the second entry in its classic survival horror franchise, Resident Evil 2 Remake.
I’ve recently finished the game, which is based on the 1998 title of the same name, and even as a mostly casual fan I came away more impressed than I originally anticipated. Like the first, you fight through a devastated version of the fictional Racoon City, ravaged by a virus that’s turning folks into brain eaters. Players can proceed through similar yet diverging story lines from the perspectives of the game’s protagonists: rookie policeman Leon Kennedy and college-student-on-a-mission Claire Redfield.
As you’ll see in the video above, it’s a fantastic, total remake in the truest sense. The world in which shady big-pharma company Umbrella Corporation operates is rebuilt in the same game engine used for 2017’s Resident Evil 7. It features an over-the-shoulder perspective, redesigned familiar areas, new puzzles, plenty of undead enemies to fight and jump scares galore that are actually in different places that the original, to keep players on their toes.
While I still have qualms with some of its gameplay mechanics, especially a lack of punchy weapon feedback and the opaque, stumbling nature of some puzzles that you need to complete in order to proceed, I will admit Capcom and its R&D Division 1 development team sets a new standard for what this type of product should be. Fans of the original are going to devour it like a hungry zombie does when you turn the wrong corner, and I anticipate it will bring in a substantial new audience as well. Which is great news after stories regarding its difficult development cycle, documented recently by Polygon.
Though, let’s be honest. We like critiquing games here however we also really love to talk business! With my critical thoughts out of the way, let’s turn to the series from a commercial standpoint and do some predicting on where this remake will fall in its storied history.
Resident Evil is Capcom’s highest-selling franchise by a wide margin, moving over 85 million copies across its dozen-ish mainline titles and numerous alternate versions, spin-offs, remasters etc. The next closest is Monster Hunter, with 52 million. Four of the company’s six best-selling individual releases ever are Resident Evil games, as you’ll see later in this post. Like the game’s signature G-Virus monster, it’s a behemoth. And a core reason why Capcom remains one of Japan’s most successful game publishers. Especially with the resurgence that began with Resident Evil 7 two years ago, which is approaching nearly 6 million units on its own.
So, can Resident Evil 2 Remake shamble its way up the list to take a bite out of the original and other all-time Capcom best-sellers?
I’m betting that it can, and will, do very well. Especially its first few weeks. Though I’m skeptical it can eclipse the likes of the more action-oriented Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 which are the best-selling in the series at 7.4 million and 7.2 million units, respectively. I expect Resident Evil 2 Remake can and will outpace the original, plus both launch window and eventual lifetime sales of Resident Evil 7. Which will be impressive, considering that the original was the fastest-selling title in North America at the time of its release in 1998, hitting 5 million copies alone during launch year.
If I had to put a number on it, which I like to do because anyone can say it will “sell well” and look back like got the prediction correct, I’m leaning in the 6.5 million lifetime range. Check the chart below for some context. I’m thinking it will basically align with Resident Evil 2 for its first year, then have good momentum through early next year as we won’t likely see another franchise title just yet.
Why? Early indicators are upbeat, including review aggregators like OpenCritic showing scores in the low 90’s. Critical reception and word-of-mouth has been overwhelmingly positive. Its “1-Shot Demo,” where players could grab a version of the game for free and play for a half hour ahead of release, has been downloaded nearly 2.7 million times as of today.
Going further, a well-done rebuild of an older game has the dual appeal of feeling like something totally new while also tickling gamer nostalgia. And I would argue that nostalgia is a more important factor in the medium of games than any other. Especially when it comes to return to an older style within a long-running franchise, plus a remake that’s so expertly-crafted like this one is.
Lastly, its release window is darn near perfect. Capcom has been smart in releasing new Resident Evil and Monster Hunter games during the past three January’s now, a month that is usually a slower one for the games industry. The prior two years have seen very impressive commercial showings from Capcom, especially Monster Hunter: World which is currently the firm’s best-selling individual title of all time. And ultimately, I anticipate this smart release timing along with the familiarity of the franchise, nostalgia for a return to older games, the indicators from the demo and the outright quality of this version will drive impressive sales for Resident Evil 2 Remake.
So, what about you? Am I being brain dead, and overly optimistic? Or do you actually think the remake will outpace the 5th and 6th installments in the series? Link up here or on Twitter, and thanks as always for.. shuffling through!
-Dom
Sources: Capcom Investor Relations, ResidentEvil.net, Outside Xbox, Polygon, Capcom Fandom, My own Xbox One X for screenshots.
Hi all. It has certainly been a slow writing year for me here at the blog, though I try to maintain activity on Twitter as much as I can! With this last post of the year, I wanted to celebrate all the great times I had with notable games that so many dedicated development teams worked on during the past 12 months.
Let’s get right to it. Here are my Top 10 Games of 2018, in descending order. Plus, some bonus mentions at the bottom. Each is listed alongside developer, publisher, platforms and sales.
Which of these did you check out? Did any of these make your list? I certainly hope so!
10. Florence (Mountains, Annapurna Interactive)
Platforms: Mobile. Android & iOS.
Sales: Was tracking well early according to lead designer Ken Wong. Over 10K downloads on Android, 5K ratings on iOS.
Mountains’ Florence is nowhere near a typical mobile game. More of an interactive visual novel. Though it’s the type of game that wouldn’t work nearly as well on a platform *other than* mobile. It uses its platform masterfully to tell the tale of a couple in their 20s, from random encounter to honeymoon period to an inevitable rough patch. Its main mechanic is using the touch screen to literally piece things together (or attempt to do so) as an emotional narrative plays out. One that comes to an unconventional conclusion, and leaves a lasting impression as a result.
Celeste is a 2D platformer about struggle, mental health and attempting to overcome your internal criticisms to achieve an aspiration. As main character Madeline climbs Celeste mountain, the challenging gameplay combines with a suite of characters and a killer soundtrack to reveal it’s ultimately an allegory for setting a goal then dealing with obstacles on the way to fulfilling it. It’s a fine video game, frustrations and all.
8. Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Platforms: PlayStation 4.
Sales: 3.3 million units its first 3 days, an all-time record for a PS4 exclusive. Currently stands as the 6th best-selling game of 2018 in the States.
For a medium that seems a perfect fit for superheros, not many recent games capture the essence of being one quite like Marvel’s Spider-Man. Insomniac stuck what I think is most important for the fantasy of being Spidey: effortless, stylish swinging through Manhattan then kicking the crap out of bad guys. While the game has snoozer side activities, annoying stealth sequences and uneven pacing, its gameplay, stellar 3rd act and surprisingly intimate character moments sling it above many 2018 games.
7. Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope, 3909)
Platforms: Windows. MacOS.
Sales: At least 100K units in around 2 months, per SteamSpy.
If you said a game made predominantly by one person that’s only available on PC/Mac where you play as an insurance adjuster would make my list, I would’ve looked at you like you were a kraken. But just last week, I finally played the game every critic I respect couldn’t stop talking about since its October ship date. It’s a sort of murder-mystery that tells the story of a doomed East India Company sea vessel called the Obra Dinn, via minimalist art and moment-in-time vignettes. Gameplay consists of navigating these snapshot memories using a magical watch, deducing what happened to crew members and passengers during the ill-fated journey. The sheer triumph of figuring out each fate becomes infectious, all the way through its conclusion and final reveal.
6. Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
Platforms: Xbox One. PlayStation 4. Windows.
Sales: A whopping 10.7 million units. The best-selling single retail release in Capcom’s storied history, not counting re-releases.
This was the earliest major release of 2018, and the first time Capcom’s popular Monster Hunter franchise hit major consoles after being very popular on handhelds in Japan. A global audience latched onto the quirky, humorous fun of an action role-playing game where you hunt gargantuan wild creatures in a variety of detailed locales. Not only is the combat super satisfying, all of its systems blend to keep players engaged: studying animals, gathering supplies, crafting weapons, purchasing items, upgrading gear and taking on quests. Plus, it has cooperative multiplayer. And you hunt alongside a cat friend. It’s a “Palico.” That calls you Meow-ster. Purr-fect!
5. Yoku’s Island Express (Villa Gorilla, Team17)
Platforms: Xbox One. PlayStation 4. Nintendo Switch. Windows.
Sales: Not available.
I couldn’t write this list without including at least something pinball related. And Yoku’s Island Express isn’t just related, it’s pinball in video game form with a genius twist. Villa Gorilla ingeniously built a 2D world that integrates traditional pinball features like flippers and bumpers that allow for traversal across its environments. The player works toward unlocking areas, discovering secrets, finding collectibles and even fighting bosses using pinball as a means to achieve these goals. The controllable character is Yoku, a cute beetle-turned-postman, who delivers items across a cheerful world that’s unfortunately plagued by a dark curse. It’s the smartest synthesis of pinball and video game that I can remember, plus it features a joyful soundtrack and amusing dialogue. I had a ball!
4. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft)
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch (Streaming in Japan Only), Windows.
Sales: Unit sales aren’t explicitly available, as often happens with major publishers. Ubisoft shared that 1st week sales set a record for the franchise on current generation. Currently the 10th best-selling game of 2018 in the States.
It may feel like the Assassin’s Creed franchise has been around for ages, before Assassins and Templars started beefing. Odyssey is nearly its dozenth mainline title, seeing the player take the role of Alexios or Kassandra, a pair of Spartan twins embroiled in political, societal and even mythical battles as mercenaries in ancient Greece. I don’t say it lightly that it’s one of the best entries in the series. (Yes, even after I said the same about Origins last year.) Some argue it’s shifting further from the series’ tradition, with its enhanced role-playing elements, loot system, dialogue trees, romance options and skill trees. I argue that this is progression. Ubisoft is continually expanding on the stealth-action base of its past. Other than a lackluster conclusion for one of the major plot lines, I have very little to complain about for this sharpest of entries.
3. Tetris Effect (Monstars/Resonair, Enhance Inc)
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR. (I’d love a Switch version, please!)
Sales: Not available.
You aren’t suffering from seeing things, like you would if you were experiencing The Tetris Effect. There is a new Tetris game in my top three. We all know Tetris is one of the best games ever. I believe that Tetris Effect, produced by Mark MacDonald alongside visionary Japanese designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi, is the singular best Tetris game ever since the original.
Its presentation is flawless. Expertly-crafted backgrounds alone would be an experience in sensory bliss. Then, its sound design is legendary. Blips of auditory delights trigger with every tetromino spin, placement and drop, accentuating its uplifting, modern new age soundtrack. It’s not without innovations, either. Players can trigger Zone, a slow motion mechanic that provides for crazy combos. There’s Journey, a curated experience through many of its levels. Its Effect mode allows players to level up and compete on leader boards. Not to mention, it’s fully playable in virtual reality. Moments of synesthesia aplenty, Tetris Effect is borderline transcendental.
2. God of War (Sony Santa Monica Studio, Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Platforms: PlayStation 4.
Sales: 3.1 million units at launch, a record for a PS4 exclusive game until Marvel’s Spider-Man released. Currently at least 5 million copies.
It’s very telling that Sony’s God of War is this high on my list, as I have little nostalgia for the over-the-top action franchise. Its main character, the rage-filled god Kratos, carries over from the earlier trilogy. Though it’s effectively a brand new game set within a gorgeous world crafted this time around Norse mythology rather than Greek. It’s a technical marvel, with game director Cory Barlog and team achieving a single camera cut for the entire duration. Positively stunning visuals, though uneven performance at times. Combat with the new Leviathan Axe is wholly satisfying, especially throwing it at a group of enemies and recalling it. Admittedly, the base combat can be repetitive but each skill unlock reveals the true depth of its systems.
With this said, the game truly shines in its story, character moments and monumental boss sequences. It’s hard to think I’m actually describing a God of War game in this way, but it’s all true and that’s why it’s this high on my list. The plot revolves around an older Kratos attempting to fulfill his wife’s dying wish of spreading her ashes, now accompanied by his half divine son and combat partner Atreus (whom the player can direct during combat and puzzle sequences). Certain Norse figures show up, including Baldur, Freya and the prolific, hilarious storyteller Mimir. The father-son dynamic drives this epic quest along, which ends in an unexpected place and surprisingly captivated me with its narrative elements above all else.
1. Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive)
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4.
Sales: $725 million in dollar sales during its first weekend. 17 million units in its initial two weeks. The second best-selling game of 2018 in the States. Not too shabby, partner.
This year, Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games returned to the Western setting with the spectacular Red Dead Redemption 2. As a prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, one of my favorite games of last generation, I was both extremely excited and cautiously optimistic when it was announced. I’m happy to report it vastly exceeded any expectations I had, however lofty. This open world action game’s primary storyline delves into the gang formed by eloquent criminal Dutch Van der Linde, with the player controlling the crew’s second-in-command named Arthur Morgan. He’s a flawed man, loyal to a fault yet still shows the capacity for good deeds and compassion. The game allows you to interact with every character in the world, and ultimately decide what “your Arthur” becomes via a morality scale. The voice acting and motion capture across the board here, for all characters though especially gang members, is extraordinary. Additionally, we see appearances from a variety of familiar faces from the original game: namely John Marston, Javier Escuella and Bill Williamson. Each of them alongside a myriad of new characters makes it feel more like a bustling settlement than many others I’ve seen within the genre.
I can’t understate how visually beautiful and detail complete RDR2 is. Every biome across its world, from snowy mountains to desolate plains to swampy bogs, is populated with fauna, animals, random characters and places to explore. Many games boast what’s called “emergent storytelling,” as in moments that a player will experience individually, separate of the curated quests or story beats. Few deliver on this promise as much as Rockstar does here. It rewards you for going out on your own, talking to people, finding strangers and helping them with their requests. Hunting, fishing, playing cards and more activities open up and each is masterfully executed. Some of them could be games on their own. In fact, these emergent moments are just as memorable if not more so than the game’s missions for me.
Speaking of missions, its overarching narrative is a standout especially in terms of the manner in which it’s conveyed. It’s obvious Rockstar is telling a certain story here, with cutscenes and cinematics interwoven to rival modern films. Sure, its mission design isn’t necessarily innovative. And it doesn’t allow for much player choice during said missions. But that’s by design! There’s freedom in every other aspect that more than makes up for this curation. Missions are usually tense and engaging, especially “major” events like heists or gang endeavors. Arthur and his fellow crew members are constantly on the run from the law or engaging with rivals, not to mention their Western dream of freedom is slowly dying to the progression ushered in by industrialism. There’s plenty of weight to the campaign, especially in later chapters as relationships clash or unravel, and Rockstar weaves moments of fan service with surprising twists to tie the game and its predecessor together.
I’m not saying it’s a perfect game, or even a game for everyone. Some of its menu and UI design is dated. It’s deliberate. Its “feel” can be sluggish until you get the hang of it. You don’t speed through its open world, you mosey. You savor it, as exhibited by Arthur’s movement as he skins each animal, loots each drawer and chats with each gang member or passerby. You hear their stories. And then, you make your own stories that exist alongside Rockstar’s.
I loved this pacing. I loved exploring, finding oddities and secrets that felt like only I had ever seen them before even though I know that’s not true. I virtually *became* a character in America during the late 1800s. I lived in Rockstar’s hyper-realistic, beautiful yet dangerous world for hours and hours, and savored every moment as much as Arthur did.
Before I wrap up, I would like to mention that Rockstar has been criticized for its demanding work practices. Many team members work long hours, especially right before release. This dedication absolutely shows in the final product. And there are those that expressed how much they love working for the studio. Either way, I am hopeful that every single person is compensated fairly for their efforts. Labor practices and company culture is way too big of an issue to discuss here, so I’ll end with saying that no one should have to suffer mentally or with their family just to produce a video game.
Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical Order)
Dead Cells (Motion Twin)
Platforms: Everything, except mobile.
Sales: Upwards of 2 million owners on PC alone per SteamSpy. Not available for console versions.
Dead Cells is the type of game that I shouldn’t have enjoyed, with its roguelike elements including permadeath and losing gear after every “run,” however it ended up being one of my favorite 2D action games of the year almost on feel alone. It’s at its best when you have a run during which you build a sweet load-out and slice through opponents like butter. Though I never actually beat the final boss because of the difficulty spike, which I mark as a knock against it even if you might disagree.
Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie, Activision Blizzard)
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows.
Sales: The only official numbers we heard were for the original Destiny 2 launch in 2017, which was above 6.3 million units. Well beyond that by now, especially after sales and promotions, however exact figures are not available.
We all know I couldn’t end this post without at least mentioning Destiny. Bungie put out its major Forsaken expansion this September, marking the one year anniversary of Destiny 2’s initial release. And it’s excellent, featuring a campaign where lovable, witty robot Cayde-6 is murdered and the player must hunt down his killers. Plus, there’s a brand new raid, tons of new gear, secrets galore and a variety of quality-of-life updates. Bungie has kept up with maintaining Destiny 2 since launch, however this is the best it’s been. It’s as fun as ever to team up with friends and fight the galaxy’s most threatening enemies, while naturally looking pretty cool all the while.
Donut County (Ben Esposito, Annapurna Interactive)
Platforms: Everything.
Sales: At least 50K on PC, per SteamSpy. Otherwise, not available.
Have you ever dreamed of controlling a hole in the ground that swallows up entire towns? No? Creator Ben Esposito fulfills a desire that no one knew they had, crafting a fun-loving game with a simple mechanic. You move a hole around a map, growing with every item it swallows up until literally nothing remains. Its plot is actually solid, as friends Mina (a human) and BK (a racoon) work at a doughnut shop. BK plays a mobile game where he “delivers doughnuts” to people by sending them holes in the ground. It’s simple and funny, with slight undertones of a commentary on gentrification. The humor shines especially in its glossary, where each item is documented as it’s gobbled up. It’s also an accessible, easy to control game.
Hollow Knight (Team Cherry)
Platforms: Everything, except mobile.
Sales: Approximately 1.25 million units, when aggregating available PC and Nintendo Switch figures.
This entry is technically cheating, as Hollow Knight originally released in 2017. Its Switch launch happened this year, so that’s when I played it, and it’s sincerely excellent. The dark, dreary 2D action platformer stands out not just because of its challenging combat but because of its unique lore and creative world-building. It’s all about a lost kingdom of bugs, and those creatures that inhabit it. The player learns about secrets and mini-stories via exploration. Each time you proceed to a new area, you feel equal parts wonder and dread. It also has some of the most memorable boss sequences I’ve played the past couple of years.
Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokemon Let’s Go, Eevee! (Game Freak, The Pokemon Company, Nintendo)
Platforms: Nintendo Switch.
Sales: In the two months since release, over 3 million units worldwide. The highest first week sales for a Switch title, until Super Smash Bros Ultimate hit 5 million at launch in December.
My final honorable mention is the latest set of adorable entries in the Pokemon franchise, which I’ll just call Let’s Go! because it’s a lot to type every time. These are re-made versions of 1998’s classic Pokemon Yellow featuring updating trappings inspired by 2016’s mobile phenomenon Pokemon Go. I grabbed the Pikachu version of Let’s Go!, of course, and loved building up my team of pocket monsters within the colorful world of Kanto, then using them to battle trainers and gym leaders. Favorite of my current squad? Arcanine. You can ride on its back, with Pikachu on your shoulder. That’s worth the price of entry alone!
There you have it. All the 2018 games worth playing! Well, there are other good games out there, but these are my selections for the best of the best. Thank you as always for reading, here’s wishing you all the best in the new year.
Sources: Photos are screenshots from my time with these games. Sales info as linked. Other information from company media and investor relations websites, Wikipedia, Venture Beat and NPD Group.
