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UK weekly physical sales: 77% of sales of Metro Exodus Complete Edition were on PS5

Hezekiah

Banned
I think you're overthinking this. Games like Resident Evil and Hitman 3 also had similar splits, and neither of them was available on any of the available gaming subscriptions.
Yes people seemed to have forgotten about Resident Evil, and I've just seen Hitman was 75% Playstation too.

The funny thing is that a lot of people are complaining about the use of percentages - when this is all Microsoft ever releases. The only hard numbers you get from them are GamePass sub numbers 😁.
 

assurdum

Banned
Yep, so using the Physical charts to compare to the software sales for each consoles is stupid in fact without these digital sales ratio.
Confused Emma Stone GIF by SAG Awards
 
Wow, that’s an big discrepancy. Seriously, what are people doing with game releases on XBOX? Waiting for them to come to Gamepass, XBOX Live Gold Games or something? This is probably one big reason why Sony can secure so many third party exclusives fairly consistently. I have a feeling that things will only get worst from here. If something like Street Fighter 6 goes exclusive again to PS5, XBOX owners will complain asking why Capcom did that.
 
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Hezekiah

Banned
Nothing stops Microsoft from outbidding Sony and putting the game on GP day one. Sony allegedly tried to get timed exclusivity for Starfield and got absolutely bitchslapped. We'll see how it goes in the future.
Yes Microsoft are just going to bid to put every big third-party game on GamePass day one. With no concern about ROI, it's just about pleasing Xbox owners.

Spoken like a true fanboy 🤦.
 
There was some diehard shill i put on ignore that was saying BF6 will be day one GP(Because Warzone and Cod mobile are so Succesful), and so would next COD. :lollipop_fearful:
Some of the GamePass fans live in fantasy-land.

Based on these UK numbers, big multiplats wont be day 1 on GP, also we will see more and more 1year/full exclusives on Playstation.
 

Dabaus

Banned
How long before we hear sales charts don't matter because MS don't sell their games anymore just rent them through GP.
If you know where to look they’ve been saying that since last generation. Sales don’t matter, software sales don’t matter, profits don’t matter. The only thing that matters now is gamespass subscription numbers and since ms has so much money they will buy out the industry. Go to any Xbox centric thread or forum and that’s exactly the kind of content you will find.
 
Based on these UK numbers, big multiplats wont be day 1 on GP, also we will see more and more 1year/full exclusives on Playstation.
Depends on your definition of big. Also the timed exclusives might only happen for Japanese games since Japan publishers live on a different planet anyway :messenger_beaming:
 

Duchess

Member
Seriously, who the fuck is still buying discs?
I do, because I can lend them to other family members, and they also tend to be discounted sooner and at deeper rates than online.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, the phantom disc spinning of the PS5 is beginning to really get on my tits, as it's distracting as hell; it especially weird the way Sony has decided it needs to happen when using an unrelated application, such as Netflix. The PS5 is literally quieter than the mouse*, so it's infuriating that this is a thing. I've decided to give Sony until the end of the year to remedy it, before I move over to digital.

(* and I know this for a fact, because my sodding cat brought one in that squeaked in terror while my PS5 was on, making me need to abandon my Mortal Shell game to catch it).
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
To even make valid comments on this we would need to know how many copies were sold, and what are the averages for customers who buy digital vs physical on both platforms.

Then it would be interesting to see how many peeps do wait for gamepass, I imagine a lot do and does Microsoft pay enough to the publishers/devs to compensate the initial sales differences that are front loaded. If the end goal is that devs and publishers receive around the same money from both platforms in the end then both directions make sense as to why the publishers support the platform.
 
To even make valid comments on this we would need to know how many copies were sold, and what are the averages for customers who buy digital vs physical on both platforms.
We have no reason to believe that the ratio of customers who buy digital vs physical is any different between the two platforms. And if they WERE, it would actually be a big deal and warrant a thread all by itself.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
We have no reason to believe that the ratio of customers who buy digital vs physical is any different between the two platforms. And if they WERE, it would actually be a big deal and warrant a thread all by itself.

why don’t we? Doesn’t gamepass offer you a general discount on the store? I could be wrong Though. This would incentivise Xbox owners to buy digitally. I think you also get rewards for buying digital on Xbox, which turns into further discounts.
 
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Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
why don’t we? Doesn’t gamepass offer you a general discount on the store? I could be wrong Though. This would incentivise Xbox owners to buy digitally. I think you also get rewards for buying digital on Xbox, which turns into further discounts.
Again, there could be a difference, but we don't know yet. So until we get actual credible data, it is safe to assume that both these consoles have similar digital sales ratio.

Besides, in another one of these threads, I did some rough calculations to prove a point: even if Xbox had a very high digital sales ratio (compared to PS), it wouldn't have made a big difference in the end.

For example, PS is selling roughly 70% digital copies. It means out of 125 million PS users, 87.5 million players buy digital. Let's assume, Xbox has a whopping 90% digital sales ratio (impossible to have such a big difference, but let's assume that for now). That'd mean that out of 50 million Xbox players, 45 million players buy digital copies.

Even in that case, 67% of total digital sales would be on PlayStation, and only 33% total digital sales would b on Xbox. It'd still be almost 70/30 and 75/25 when combined physical + digital sales. Because of how big the PS userbase, a 10-20% difference in digital sales won't make a noticeable difference.

But again, we have 0 evidence that Xbox users buy 90% digital copies. As a matter of fact, whatever little evidence we have, points out that PlayStation users actually buy more digital copies, not Xbox players.

According to Gameindustry.biz data (published on Feb 8, 2021):

PS4 was the biggest platform for downloads across the tracked publishers, accounting for 52% of sales. PC was in second place with 27%.

That leaves 21% for Nintendo Switch and Xbox. Nintendo Switch has sold 2x the number of Xbox consoles. So, logically, Xbox should have 7% of the remaining total, while Nintendo should have 14%. So 52% (PS4) vs. 7% (Xbox). But let's divide 21% equally b/w Nintendo and Xbox, and we are left with 52% (PS4) and 10.5% for Xbox.
 
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SafeOrAlone

Banned
The thing is... there are so many games on GamePass that you might as well just play those, and not bother forking out for anything else - unless there is a specific game that you want to play. GamePass has killed the impulse buy, or the 'maybe I'll like this' buy completely for anyone with an XBox.

You can either have a subscription based model, or a single purchase based model. XBox physical and digital game sales are bound to suffer quite a lot when GamePass exists.
I suppose you could be right, but it’s hard to gauge purchase habits on such a large scale.
My story is anecdotal, but at the same time, I’m certainly not alone in the way I purchase games. I think a lot of people love GP because it opens so many doors to try new games and have access to the same games as your friends, but also have interest in games outside the ecosystem.

There is also the fact to consider that people spending more time gaming because of GP, spend more time in the Xbox ecosystem in general, which could lead to more purchase than otherwise. I fit into that category, because I was pretty much on hiatus from games at the end of the PS4 life, but GP has me logging on several times a week, spending time on Xbox, spending time in the digital store, and making purchase impulses.

I guess, at the end of the day, your reasoning makes perfect sense to me, but I believe we will see it isn’t necessarily that simple.
Xbox has less game sales now, in some of the sales numbers we are seeing, but Xbox has sold less consoles, so the current examples like RE8 selling more don’t seem all that relevant. Outriders also did well, sales-wise, outside of GamePass, on Xbox, despite launching there.
I think it’s too complex to simply assume that the subscription service model will kill sales.
 
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No, it's totally valid. Unless there is credible data which proves that one platform has a significantly higher digital sales ratio than the other platform, you can definitely use these physical charts to estimate the overall worldwide sales (physical + digital).

So with missing datas, you can said that is valid ???
 
Again, there could be a difference, but we don't know yet. So until we get actual credible data, it is safe to assume that both these consoles have similar digital sales ratio.

Besides, in another one of these threads, I did some rough calculations to prove a point: even if Xbox had a very high digital sales ratio (compared to PS), it wouldn't have made a big difference in the end.

For example, PS is selling roughly 70% digital copies. It means out of 125 million PS users, 87.5 million players buy digital. Let's assume, Xbox has a whopping 90% digital sales ratio (impossible to have such a big difference, but let's assume that for now). That'd mean that out of 50 million Xbox players, 45 million players buy digital copies.

Even in that case, 67% of total digital sales would be on PlayStation, and only 33% total digital sales would b on Xbox. It'd still be almost 70/30 and 75/25 when combined physical + digital sales. Because of how big the PS userbase, a 10-20% difference in digital sales won't make a noticeable difference.

But again, we have 0 evidence that Xbox users buy 90% digital copies. As a matter of fact, whatever little evidence we have, points out that PlayStation users actually buy more digital copies, not Xbox players.

According to Gameindustry.biz data (published on Feb 8, 2021):



That leaves 21% for Nintendo Switch and Xbox. Nintendo Switch has sold 2x the number of Xbox consoles. So, logically, Xbox should have 7% of the remaining total, while Nintendo should have 14%. So 52% (PS4) vs. 7% (Xbox). But let's divide 21% equally b/w Nintendo and Xbox, and we are left with 52% (PS4) and 10.5% for Xbox.

As far as I know, the nintendo eshop is not really part of these numbers as Nintendo does not share the datas for their games.
 
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Depends on your definition of big. Also the timed exclusives might only happen for Japanese games since Japan publishers live on a different planet anyway :messenger_beaming:
That's an area where GP might improve on in the future, getting more Japanese games in on GP day 1.
Because they never sell well on Xbox anyways.
 

FunkMiller

Gold Member
I suppose you could be right, but it’s hard to gauge purchase habits on such a large scale.
My story is anecdotal, but at the same time, I’m certainly not alone in the way I purchase games. I think a lot of people love GP because it opens so many doors to try new games and have access to the same games as your friends, but also have interest in games outside the ecosystem.

There is also the fact to consider that people spending more time gaming because of GP, spend more time in the Xbox ecosystem in general, which could lead to more purchase than otherwise. I fit into that category, because I was pretty much on hiatus from games at the end of the PS4 life, but GP has me logging on several times a week, spending time on Xbox, spending time in the digital store, and making purchase impulses.

I guess, at the end of the day, your reasoning makes perfect sense to me, but I believe we will see it isn’t necessarily that simple.
Xbox has less game sales now, in some of the sales numbers we are seeing, but Xbox has sold less consoles, so the current examples like RE8 selling more don’t seem all that relevant. Outriders also did well, sales-wise, outside of GamePass, on Xbox, despite launching there.
I think it’s too complex to simply assume that the subscription service model will kill sales.

And therein lies the heart of Microsoft's plan. I don't think they much care about console or games sales. As you say, it's the entire ecosystem they care about - and getting as many people to sign up to that ecosystem as possible is their goal. What hardware they choose to do this with is completely immaterial. I game on a ROG Zephyrus laptop, and I am just as important to their plans as someone else with a Series S or X. They don't seem to care what platform you're gaming on, as long as you're gaming with them.

The question at the moment is whether this is the right strategy to employ. And the jury remains out on that - and will do for quite some time to come. I have voiced the concern before that they have not done enough to persuade people to join the ecosystem if they are not already part of it - but that seems to be addressed with things like the purchase of Bethesda. The key thing here is whether those games will come fast enough to lure in gamers to the ecosystem. Time will tell.
 

MikeM

Member
If you know where to look they’ve been saying that since last generation. Sales don’t matter, software sales don’t matter, profits don’t matter. The only thing that matters now is gamespass subscription numbers and since ms has so much money they will buy out the industry. Go to any Xbox centric thread or forum and that’s exactly the kind of content you will find.

If you are a dev, this would be important if your game isn't going to be on GP. Why focus development efforts on a console where your software doesn't sell as well proportionally compared to the other platform? What's the ROI? Is it worth it? Then comes the optimization aspect where you will likely allot more resources to the platform you know you will sell the most on.
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
Wow, that’s an big discrepancy. Seriously, what are people doing with game releases on XBOX? Waiting for them to come to Gamepass, XBOX Live Gold Games or something? This is probably one big reason why Sony can secure so many third party exclusives fairly consistently. I have a feeling that things will only get worst from here. If something like Street Fighter 6 goes exclusive again to PS5, XBOX owners will complain asking why Capcom did that.

Is this really a mystery? People out here trying to apply quantum physics to this when the answer seems obvious. Yes, subscription services like Netflix and Disney + do affect buying habits. Contrary to moronic logic, people don't subscribe and then keep buying games like they did before, something that is quite apparent by next gen software sales. We can also observe that by reading forums like this one, where constantly we read about Xbox owners buying habits having completely changed due to GP. And these are the enthusiasts, so let's pour one for the idea that the casuals who opt in because of value will decide to keep buying full priced games. I hear bridges are for sale...
 
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Renozokii

Member
So what does this mean for MS longer term?
IMO it means any game Microsoft doesn’t shell out a ton of money for, Sony can just swoop in an offer cash for timed exclusivity. Why launch a game on Xbox to sell shit in exchange for money from Microsoft to be free on gamepass, when sony can give you money to launch on the ps5 with their marketing push behind it as well, sell a ton of copies and make technically uncapped money, and then just get money to come to gamepass later anyway.

And any game Microsoft doesn’t make a cash offer for has a realistic chance of not coming to Xbox period. What’s the point?
 
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Renozokii

Member
Is this really a mystery? People out here trying to apply quantum physics to this when the answer seems obvious. Yes, subscription services like Netflix and Disney + do affect buying habits. Contrary to moronic logic, people don't subscribe and then keep buying games like they did before, something that is quite apparent by next gen software sales. We can also observe that by reading forums like this one, where constantly we read about Xbox owners buying habits having completely changed due to GP. And these are the enthusiasts, so let's pour one for the idea that the casuals who opt in because of value will decide to keep buying full priced games. I hear bridges are for sale...
Exactly. Almost no one with streaming services goes to the movies or buys blu rays as much as they did before. The difference here is the premium stuff, in this case Sony and Nintendo, eclipse jn quality most of what’s coming launch day to gamepass a hundred times over. That and gamers seem more resistant to digital than any other industry. Supposedly still a 50/50 split. Likely due to a variety of reasons from sheer game size, poor internet, drm practices, selling and buying used, collections, replayability, and nostalgia.
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
But what if people over time slowly stop buying as many games for Xbox Series consoles due to GamePass? Does MS still just keep throwing money as Publishers regardless of the sales of the game?

They will throw them money to put their games on Gamepass. At the end of the day they are a services company, and they will do what they can to make gamepass a big source of recurrent revenue for them. There's no putting the genie back in the lamp, this is their model and it's up to publishers to run the numbers and see what works for them. I'm extremely curious to see how numbers will compare, but I would bet money that the difference in software sales between PS5 and XBXS will be much larger than PS4 and XB1, which was already very big.

By the end of 23' we will have a clear answer to what it means for the industry, for the market and for each brand. There's literally no scenario where in late 23' we are still in a "wait and see" phase. Subscription numbers, software sales, hardware sales, the data will be there and nobody will be able to hide behind speculation. The answers are coming right around the corner.
 

thewire

Member
Exactly. Almost no one with streaming services goes to the movies or buys blu rays as much as they did before. The difference here is the premium stuff, in this case Sony and Nintendo, eclipse jn quality most of what’s coming launch day to gamepass a hundred times over. That and gamers seem more resistant to digital than any other industry. Supposedly still a 50/50 split. Likely due to a variety of reasons from sheer game size, poor internet, drm practices, selling and buying used, collections, replayability, and nostalgia.
In Sony case, digital has overtaken physical software
 
it's going to get worse for 3rd party publishers on xbox unless MS pay them to release on gamepass

might make it even easier for Sony to get more exclusives
These are physical sales... The Xbox ecosystem is HEAVILY digital. Everything about their platform is geared towards digital functionality. Physical sales paint an incorrect picture of actual sales breaks downs. Without digital corroboration it's worthless data.
 

Leyasu

Banned
But what if people over time slowly stop buying as many games for Xbox Series consoles due to GamePass? Does MS still just keep throwing money as Publishers regardless of the sales of the game?
I suppose that would all come down to subscriber numbers
 

assurdum

Banned
These are physical sales... The Xbox ecosystem is HEAVILY digital. Everything about their platform is geared towards digital functionality. Physical sales paint an incorrect picture of actual sales breaks downs. Without digital corroboration it's worthless data.
It's not like Xbox can overtake digitally the ps5 neither, considered the hardware probably sell close to the double of the Xbox.
 
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sunnysideup

Banned
Why would third parties want to kill their relative autonomy and be chained to game pass?

Gamepass is not in anyone's interest but ms.
 
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thewire

Member
Over taken for sure but the percentages are near 50/50 still with digital just taking the lead. Compare that to movie and tv show streaming to blu rays and dvds, or music streaming to cds.
rlq2jXu.png
As you can see, the digital split is much higher on PlayStation, whilst physical is relatively static, even the digital argument for Xbox doesn’t hold weight as games just sell substantially better on PlayStation.
 
rlq2jXu.png
As you can see, the digital split is much higher on PlayStation, whilst physical is relatively static, even the digital argument for Xbox doesn’t hold weight as games just sell substantially better on PlayStation.

You don't have the ratio for Xbox so I don't see why it doesn't hold.
 
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Hezekiah

Banned
If you know where to look they’ve been saying that since last generation. Sales don’t matter, software sales don’t matter, profits don’t matter. The only thing that matters now is gamespass subscription numbers and since ms has so much money they will buy out the industry. Go to any Xbox centric thread or forum and that’s exactly the kind of content you will find.
I get the impression that some gamers think Microsoft is going to subsidise their gaming forever.

'Phil' has a blank cheque book remember. He's going to keep writing checks on Xbox gamers' behalf as long as they subscribe to GamePass 😁.
 

Dabaus

Banned
But what if people over time slowly stop buying as many games for Xbox Series consoles due to GamePass? Does MS still just keep throwing money as Publishers regardless of the sales of the game?
Thats what remains to be seen. When the sales ratio between seris S/X and ps5 is 3:1 or more in favor of PS5 do publishers even care what xbox does? I think thats one of the main reasons MS is focused on acquiring studios because unless they own the studio, there is a very good chance that as this generation continues, the more likely publishers end up ignoring xbox. Series S/X is already selling worse than the xbox one did at this point in time AND Xbox owners are being conditioned not to buy games?
 
Is this really a mystery? People out here trying to apply quantum physics to this when the answer seems obvious. Yes, subscription services like Netflix and Disney + do affect buying habits. Contrary to moronic logic, people don't subscribe and then keep buying games like they did before, something that is quite apparent by next gen software sales. We can also observe that by reading forums like this one, where constantly we read about Xbox owners buying habits having completely changed due to GP. And these are the enthusiasts, so let's pour one for the idea that the casuals who opt in because of value will decide to keep buying full priced games. I hear bridges are for sale...
That makes sense, but this was going on before Gamepass even materialized to my knowledge. Remember the 80/20% split between Final Fantasy 15 and MGS5 for example? Understandable that subscription services affect buying habits, but that’s really bad when even newer, popular releases that aren’t even on Gamepass get ignored.
 
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Thats what remains to be seen. When the sales ratio between seris S/X and ps5 is 3:1 or more in favor of PS5 do publishers even care what xbox does? I think thats one of the main reasons MS is focused on acquiring studios because unless they own the studio, there is a very good chance that as this generation continues, the more likely publishers end up ignoring xbox. Series S/X is already selling worse than the xbox one did at this point in time AND Xbox owners are being conditioned not to buy games?

Not sure that's always the case.
 

mckmas8808

Banned
They will throw them money to put their games on Gamepass. At the end of the day they are a services company, and they will do what they can to make gamepass a big source of recurrent revenue for them. There's no putting the genie back in the lamp, this is their model and it's up to publishers to run the numbers and see what works for them. I'm extremely curious to see how numbers will compare, but I would bet money that the difference in software sales between PS5 and XBXS will be much larger than PS4 and XB1, which was already very big.

By the end of 23' we will have a clear answer to what it means for the industry, for the market and for each brand. There's literally no scenario where in late 23' we are still in a "wait and see" phase. Subscription numbers, software sales, hardware sales, the data will be there and nobody will be able to hide behind speculation. The answers are coming right around the corner.

The bolded is VERY true. 2023 will be the year of truth. No hiding.

I suppose that would all come down to subscriber numbers

Good point. I'd think MS would need at least 100 million GamePass subs before they could even make a true profit. But that's assuming their expenses are similar to Disney+ and the like.

Why would third parties want to kill their relative autonomy and be chained to game pass?

Gamepass is not in anyone's interest but ms.

I've never thought of that. This is an excellent point. Would 3rd parties really want to chain themselves to MS' subscription service, if it meant they'd lose many sales on the PC\Xbox console? Would the upfront cash be worth it?

Thats what remains to be seen. When the sales ratio between seris S/X and ps5 is 3:1 or more in favor of PS5 do publishers even care what xbox does? I think thats one of the main reasons MS is focused on acquiring studios because unless they own the studio, there is a very good chance that as this generation continues, the more likely publishers end up ignoring xbox. Series S/X is already selling worse than the xbox one did at this point in time AND Xbox owners are being conditioned not to buy games?

Netflix had to do the samething. Instead of buying studios, they bought license rights to popular TV shows. But even that is extremely expensive.
 

Drewpee

Banned
  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart sales up 2% compared to the previous week, making it the best selling game of the week by a comfortable margin
  • 77% of sales of Metro Exodus Complete Edition were on PS5
  • Resident Evil: Village re-enters the top 5 after a 59% sales increase thanks an increase in sales of the PS5 version
  • The PS5 version of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Guilty Gear Strive drop out of the top 40
  • Spider-Man: Miles Morales retains in top 10 spot, dropping from 5th to 7th
gIHaMrq.jpg


gamesindustry
Not surprising, PlayStation has a bigger install base of people that will pay full price for new games and Xbox is a platform where Gamepass and DLC seems to be the focus.

Neither option is bad but it will make comparisons like above almost pointless in the future. Personally I prefer the Gamepass approach. I dont have an attachment to the games I play outside of enjoying them as a piece of entertainment, which makes it easier to not own the content.
 
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