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[jvm]

As the PAL Charts threads regulars know, I've used reports in the UK press to collect data on retail software sales for a while now. The results for 2014 are now in, and I thought I'd put together the tables and a graph for those who were interested.

Remember: This is software at retail. No digital storefront sales. And this is not hardware.

Here is a straightforward bar graph to show you where the platforms ended in 2014. The 2013 totals are shown in shadow behind the main bars, so you can get a sense of the change from last year. Note that the Xbox One and PS4 were only out in November and December 2013.

To get a sense of how things went throughout the year, I've put together these tables showing monthly units and revenue, as well as annual totals and YOY changes in those annual totals. (Note: Sorted by the annual total columns.)

Finally, because people are interested in how the Xbox One and PS4 are doing, here are LTD software figures:
LTD PS4 Software Units: 8.09 million
LTD XB1 Software Units: 6.80 million

As always, it's possible I've made an error in the tabulation or computations, so if you spot something please point it out. I'm always pleased to make corrections so we can all be talking about reliable information.

Link: Last year's thread.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

Thanks for doing this jvm!

 

[Vashetti]

Surprising people actually found Vita games on shelves to buy.

I always have a pleasant surprise when I see them on shelves.

 

[Stereogatari]

Surprising people actually found Vita games on shelves to buy.

I always have a pleasant surprise when I see them on shelves.

Outside of GAME they are a dime a dozen.

 

[Chris1]

Surprising people actually found Vita games on shelves to buy.

I always have a pleasant surprise when I see them on shelves.

GAME sells them

 

[Serenity]

Awesome thanks. I wonder if all the bundle games over the holiday get rung up as a full price sale. How does that work. Its easy to track the units but how is the revenue divided between the games in the bundle.

 

[Vashetti]

GAME sells them

I know

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Thanks for the info, JVM.

360 is a damn software beast.

Interesting to see that the difference between X1 and PS4 isn't that wide. Will be interesting to see what happens when more people moving on from last gen as it starts to see less and less support.

PS3 collapsed completely. I'm shocked, didn't figure that so many owners would move on that quickly. Guess it was mostly a hardcore base with the PS3 in the UK?

Poor Wii U. One of the best line ups of 2014 and it just barely beats PC at retail. PC. Good grief, this cannot be making for good reading at Nintendo.

Vita surprisingly not doing as bad as I thought it would. I wonder how many rooms full of games Dave has now...

 

[Jimmyfenix]

Thanks for the info, JVM.

360 is a damn software beast.

Interesting to see that the difference between X1 and PS4 isn't that wide. Will be interesting to see what happens when more people moving on from last gen as it starts to see less and less support.

PS3 collapsed completely. I'm shocked, didn't figure that so many owners would move on that quickly. Guess it was mostly a hardcore base with the PS3 in the UK?

Poor Wii U. One of the best line ups of 2014 and it just barely beats PC at retail. PC. Good grief, this cannot be making for good reading at Nintendo.

Vita surprisingly not doing as bad as I thought it would. I wonder how many rooms full of games Dave has now...

I wonder what drove up retail sales for the 360 last January. Fifa & COD ?

 

[theprodigy]

Thanks for the info, JVM.

360 is a damn software beast.

Interesting to see that the difference between X1 and PS4 isn't that wide. Will be interesting to see what happens when more people moving on from last gen as it starts to see less and less support.

PS3 collapsed completely. I'm shocked, didn't figure that so many owners would move on that quickly. Guess it was mostly a hardcore base with the PS3 in the UK?

Poor Wii U. One of the best line ups of 2014 and it just barely beats PC at retail. PC. Good grief, this cannot be making for good reading at Nintendo.

Vita surprisingly not doing as bad as I thought it would. I wonder how many rooms full of games Dave has now...

er, it...didn't? unless you're talking about December only for some reason, but then it's not "barely"

 

[Jimmyfenix]

Nintendo can't be happy with this

 

[RamzaIsCool]

Thanks for the info, JVM.

360 is a damn software beast.

Interesting to see that the difference between X1 and PS4 isn't that wide. Will be interesting to see what happens when more people moving on from last gen as it starts to see less and less support.

PS3 collapsed completely. I'm shocked, didn't figure that so many owners would move on that quickly. Guess it was mostly a hardcore base with the PS3 in the UK?

Poor Wii U. One of the best line ups of 2014 and it just barely beats PC at retail. PC. Good grief, this cannot be making for good reading at Nintendo.

Vita surprisingly not doing as bad as I thought it would. I wonder how many rooms full of games Dave has now...

Am I missing here something? There isn't that much difference in the rate of drop of both consoles. Actually if we are looking to purely numbers, more Xbox owners have moved on to next gen then Playstation owners.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Those new gen tie ratios seem pretty darn good.

 

[theprodigy]

Am I missing here something? There isn't that much difference in the rate of drop of both consoles. Actually if we are looking to purely numbers, more Xbox owners have moved on to next gen then Playstation owners.

yeah, -45% for 360 vs -52% for PS3 really isn't that big of a difference, though it might imply PS3 owners are moving to next gen slightly faster? idk

 

[funkystudent]

Wii beating 3DS seems a little surprising for whatever reason.

 

[Insane Metal]

Honestly, those are incredible numbers for the XBone and just good for the PS4.

 

[jbug617]

Wii U seems low especially with all the great games that came out last year (DK, Mario Kart and Smash).

 

[Welfare]

Poor Wii U. One of the best line ups of 2014 and it just barely beats PC at retail. PC. Good grief, this cannot be making for good reading at Nintendo.

PC beat the Wii U

 

[Jimmyfenix]

Wii beating 3DS seems a little surprising for whatever reason.

Don't you mean the DS?

 

[Miles Quaritch]

My bad, I thought December was the total.

 

[SparkTR]

PC beat the Wii U

PC retail should not be a thing anymore. To be surpassed by that it seems like Nintendo would have to go out of their way to fail.

 

[Busaiku]

3DS software sales in the UK are so terrible.
By itself, Super Smash Bros for 3DS in the US outsold total sales of 3DS games in UK...
Same with Japan of course.

 

[cyberheater]

Xbox One did pretty good. I'm surprised that sales are so close to PS4 numbers.

 

[Stevey]

Lol, PC retail beats Wii-U

 

[DieH@rd]

Poor Wii U. One of the best line ups of 2014 and it just barely beats PC at retail. PC. Good grief, this cannot be making for good reading at Nintendo.

No, it did not have best game line up of 2014. It got barely any games, of which few were good. Other platforms got more than 10 times larger game release catalogue, mostly very popular 3rd party software that did not target release on WiiU.

And judging by what was announced so far, 2015 will remain the same for WiiU. Very few games that are mostly created by Nintendo for their smaller and smaller core audience.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I wonder what drove up retail sales for the 360 last January. Fifa & COD ?

Has to be. Can't think of anything else that would drive sales.

Am I missing here something? There isn't that much difference in the rate of drop of both consoles. Actually if we are looking to purely numbers, more Xbox owners have moved on to next gen then Playstation owners.

I wasn't looking at the percentage drop, but total software sales. 7283k vs 4570k.

I know the 360 was dominant throughout the last generation and maybe my memory is just hazy, but the software sales were pretty close towards the end of generation. The difference now is surprising with how much of a drop there is for PS3 software.

 

[Welfare]

PC retail should not be a thing anymore. To be surpassed by that it seems like Nintendo would have to go out of their way to fail.

UK does not like the Wii U.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

UK does not like the Wii U.

Or Nintendo is general

 

[Miles Quaritch]

No, it did not have best game line up of 2014. It got barely any games, of which few were good. Other platforms got more than 10 times larger game release catalogue, mostly very popular 3rd party software that did not target release on WiiU.

And judging by what was announced so far, 2015 will remain the same for WiiU. Very few games that are mostly created by Nintendo for their smaller and smaller core audience.

Of course it had the best line up of 2014. That's not even really up for debate...


Not everything has to revolve around third party offerings to bolster a line up. Nintendo were able to deliver a stellar and varied line up without the need for third parties...

 

[Durante]

No, it did not have best game line up of 2014. It got barely any games, of which few were good. Other platforms got more than 10 times larger game release catalogue, mostly very popular 3rd party software that did not target release on WiiU.

 

[Stevey]

Of course it had the best line up of 2014. That's not even really up for debate...


Not everything has to revolve around third party offerings to bolster a line up. Nintendo were able to deliver a stellar and varied line up without the need for third parties...

Shame it didn't translate into sales for them.

 

[Welfare]

You gonna add in 3rd party or no?

 

[SmokyDave]

Really pleased to see next gen adoption has been strong. Can't fault the 360 either, man that thing shifts games.

Vita surprisingly not doing as bad as I thought it would. I wonder how many rooms full of games Dave has now...

0! I'm all digital on Vita. As it should be.

You gonna add in 3rd party or no?

Of course not. If it ain't exclusive, it ain't a videogame anyone wants to play. Please ignore the software sales charts for 2014 as they might contradict this.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Maybe the exclusives weren't to Diehard's tastes?

Shame it didn't translate into sales for them.

It's criminal. I don't participate in Nintendo threads too much here as it tends to bring out my fanboy side (it's a hard thing to shake being a Nintendo fanboy), but the U was my most played console last year and it pains me to see how badly it continues to do in the UK.

Some of that is do with Nintendo. They aren't aggressive enough, they don't market their games enough, they didn't even try to be competitive this Christmas, they just seem to have given up...I really don't understand the thinking behind it.

2014 was their year, but they didn't even attempt to capitalise.

You gonna add in 3rd party or no?

While Nintendo weren't graced with third party offerings, they didn't really need them. Their line up was varied and appealing enough without them.

 

[DieH@rd]

Of course it had the best line up of 2014. That's not even really up for debate...

Not everything has to revolve around third party offerings to bolster a line up. Nintendo were able to deliver a stellar and varied line up without the need for third parties...

What? Yes it is.

Nintendo managed to create few great games, but they did not manage to provide WiiU gamers with great line up of software overall. They are either releasing 1st party games, or getting showelware from 3rd parties. That makes their console UNAPPEALING to general audience, hence their results [which are still bad sales wize, but not as abysmal as in last year].

Offering for nextgen was much more comprehensive, with wide variety of gaming experiences on both indie and AAA scale, in every genre imaginable, for every pricepoint of software.

 

[Durante]

Of course not. If it ain't exclusive, it ain't a videogame anyone wants to play.

No, if it's not exclusive then there's a 99% chance it's best on PC anyway.

Anyway, I didn't make that chart, Metacritic did.

Offering for nextgen was much more comprehensive, with wide variety of gaming experiences on both indie and AAA scale, in every genre imaginable, for every pricepoint of software.

Unless you count PC as "nextgen", I'd very much doubt the bolded.

 

[Lion Heart]

Sony must be thrilled with this ratio, look at the change in market share from last gen. MS has to be pissed they aren't way out in uk and US because that's the bulk of their sales. I think Sony would take this for the rest of the gen if they could.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

No, if it's not exclusive then there's a 99% chance it's best on PC anyway.

Anyway, I didn't make that chart, Metacritic did.

And how does that matter to people that wanted a consoles or want to play there games on consoles ?

 

[Boombloxer]

Shame it didn't translate into sales for them.

Exactly. That's the whole point.

I love Okami, didn't sell, and thus can be a gem, but not a blockbuster hit. It happens.

The console is niche to the average gamer, and most don't care about it's offerings because the shortcoming of the console are so severe.

Don't get what's so hard about this. It had some gems in 2014, but in terms of moving the needle it did fuck-all.

 

[MisterR]

Xbox One did pretty good. I'm surprised that sales are so close to PS4 numbers.

Not really that close. Especially in their 2nd best territory

 

[Lexxism]

Wii beating 3DS seems a little surprising for whatever reason.

Don't you mean the DS?

Or maybe PSV.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

How the hell did we get to a PC vs Console argument in a thread about retail software sales in the UK?

Exactly. That's the whole point.

I love Okami, didn't sell, and thus can be a gem, but not a blockbuster hit. It happens.

The console is niche to the average gamer, and most don't care about it's offerings because the shortcoming of the console are so severe.

Don't get what's so hard about this. It had some gems in 2014, but in terms of moving the needle it did fuck-all.

I wonder if Nintendo even cares about its position in the UK

Or maybe PSV.

Just Dance is still pretty popular

 

[DieH@rd]

Unless you count PC as "nextgen", I'd very much doubt the bolded.

I am. I wanted to discuss lineups of all platforms, and IMO, WiiU did not have a good one this year.

Exactly. That's the whole point.

I love Okami, didn't sell, and thus can be a gem, but not a blockbuster hit. It happens.

The console is niche to the average gamer, and most don't care about it's offerings because the shortcoming of the console are so severe.

Don't get what's so hard about this. It had some gems in 2014, but in terms of moving the needle it did fuck-all.

Nicely said.

 

[Qassim]

I'm surprised at PC retail sales, the PC section of most game stores here in the UK is typically very limited. But I suppose stuff like Football Manager, The Sims, etc are the type of games that have an audience that may not be that into digital distribution yet.

 

[Durante]

How the hell did we get to a PC vs Console argument in a thread about retail software sales in the UK?

I think people got annoyed by the chart I posted simply to support the argument that Wii U had a good lineup, since it also incidentally included PC. Even though that doesn't really matter in a retail sales thread, PC retail is mostly dead outside of some parts of mainland Europe.

And how does that matter to people that wanted a consoles or want to play there games on consoles ?

It doesn't, did I claim it did? It only matters when trying to determine the platform with the best lineup of the year

 

[Vashetti]

UK does not like the Wii U.

Or Nintendo is general

UK is price conscious. Nintendo games do not drop in price over time on the same scale as PS and Xbox games.

You can't jump in mid-gen or at the end of the gen and buy a load of cheap software.

 

[offshore]

That's pretty good for XB1, all things considered. Question is, where will all those 360 players go when they've finished?

 

[Boombloxer]

How the hell did we get to a PC vs Console argument in a thread about retail software sales in the UK?



I wonder if Nintendo even cares about its position in the UK



Just Dance is still pretty popular

How the hell did we get to a PC vs Console argument in a thread about retail software sales in the UK?

Someone posted a list of metacritic exclusive games, which naturally doesn't actually tell the whole story, then mentioned that exclusive are better 99% of the time on PC anyway.

So basically, bullshit. We're talking about total software sales, which was led by the 360 and PS4. Whether they technically perform better on PC is largely irrelevant, because it's not reflected in sales.

Back on-topic, it looks like a normal transition, down to the genres. UK looks pretty healthy overall.

It doesn't, did I claim it did? It only matters when trying to determine the platform with the best lineup of the year

Then post the entire list. Exclusives are a small part of all of the console line-ups.
...Oh right, because it wouldn't actually have the best line-up, which is what others are saying. Those 9 titles probably don't equal the total amount of either the XB1 or the PS4...which is why most people buy the console in the first place.

But I think you knew that.

Matter of fact, I'll help:

This is the WiiU Top 25 - Highest 92, lowest 73

This is the PS4 Top 25 - Highest 96, lowest 84

This is the XB1 Top 25 - Highest 97, lowest 80

If someone wants to attach raw sales to see how they correlate, I'm all for it.

 

[Flappy]

UK is price conscious.

I would add the word "VERY" in there.

Price has always been a big factor in popularity over here because everything is so expensive.

Question is, where will all those 360 players go when they've finished?

Usually the cheapest console at that time (Although I doubt it will be the Wii-U)

 

[Jimmyfenix]

Sony must be thrilled with this ratio, look at the change in market share from last gen. MS has to be pissed they aren't way out in uk and US because that's the bulk of their sales. I think Sony would take this for the rest of the gen if they could.

Even with all the pricecuts/promotions in the UK and outselling PS4 for a few weeks Sony still managed to wipe out all the increased sales in December that Xbox one gained/ I wonder what MS strategy for the UK will be now? It is not working the same way it is in the United states.