Sony may well be struggling to meet demand for the PlayStation 5, but this didn’t stop the console from topping the UK sales charts last month. According to Games Industry, the new console beat both the Xbox Series X and the Nintendo Switch.
In total, 900,000 consoles were sold in the UK between November 1 and November 28. The majority were PlayStation 5 consoles. This meant Nintendo Switch settled for the runner-up spot for only the third time in the last two years. Such high sales numbers are really to be expected for a month in which two new consoles are launched. November 2020 was a more successful month than November 2013 for revenue generated by console sales; the latter was when the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both launched, of course.
There was a 61.4% increase in the number of console accessories sold too. Between October 25 and November 21, players purchased 1.25 million accessories with PlayStation dominating the top 10. The top selling accessory during this period was the PlayStation 5 DualSense Controller. The Pulse 3D Headset took second place. Third spot fell to the PlayStation 4 DualShock controller, which had topped the chart the previous month. Other accessories in the top 10 were the PS5 Media Remote in seventh place and the DualSense Charging Station in eighth place. The PS5 HD Camera just missed out on a top 10 spot by placing at number 11.
In terms of games, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War took the top spot. This was followed by Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and FIFA 21. Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales came fourth. This title sold more copies on the PlayStation 5 than it did on the PlayStation 4. It was also the biggest PS5 launch title in the UK, at least in terms of physical sales. Unfortunately, the game chart only takes into account the sale of boxed copies. Digital sales taking a much bigger slice of the market than ever before, but there were still 2.38 million games sold during the period.
With all PlayStation 5 inventory currently sold out, it seems unlikely the console will hold onto the top spot next month. Sony is promising more PS5 inventory in time for Christmas, but with the Nintendo Switch readily available, it’s more likely the latter will reclaim number one in December.
[Source: Games Industry]
