Console sales declined slightly in July compared to June, with sales falling across all three major platforms.
Nearly 104,000 slot machines (GfK UK panel units) were sold in the UK last month, down 16% month-on-month. Overall, game console sales are down 38% this year. Note: July has four weeks, while June has five.
PS5 sales dropped the least in July (down 14%) and as a result it is now the UK’s second most popular console of 2022, just behind the Nintendo Switch. PS5 and Xbox Series X are still held back by stock shortages.
F1 22 retains first place in July
According to the latest GSD figures, 1.79 million physical and digital video games were sold in the UK last month.
This is a decrease of 17% compared to July last year and a decrease of 32% compared to June 2022.
The biggest game of the month is F1 22, which takes the number 1 position for the second consecutive month, having raced to the top in June.
For the rest it was another quiet month. The Quarry, which was also released in June, continues to show some legs at No.8. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the highest grossing new game, debuting at number 13 after a week on sale.
Nintendo does not share digital sales until now, and so Nintendo games would have charted higher if digitally included. In terms of physical sales only, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga was the best-selling game, with F1 22 at number 2, while Nintendo Switch Sports, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Mario Kart 8: Deluxe are at number 3. and 5.
A number of games, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Far Cry 6, are back in the charts after promotional activities.
The Horizon: Forbidden West Bundle
Regular readers may notice that Horizon: Forbidden West, which dominates the weekly physical charts (from GfK), doesn’t take monthly software figures (from GSD) into account at all. This is because this monthly chart does not take console bundles into account, while the weekly chart does.
The PS5 Horizon bundle has been hit a bit, and over the past three months, 50% of PS5 console sales have come from the official Horizon bundle.
“The increase in fortunes for PS5, excluding the variable that is available in any given week, can be attributed to the success of the Horizon Forbidden West Official Bundles – the first of which came in Week 19 (May 22) on the U.K. market.”, explains GfK game boss Dorian Bloch.
“Since the launch of the official bundles, looking at the three months from May to July, 50% of the PS5 hardware has been derived from the two official bundles. This also explains the high chart position for Horizon: Forbidden West in the box software charts over these weeks. Recently, the official bundles have been good for less PS5 hardware, but many retailers are now bundling Horizon: Forbidden West with standard PS5 consoles, especially if they are low on stock with the official bundles. All of this means Horizon: Forbidden West remains high on the software charts, with an original No1 at launch and another five No1s long after launch, all thanks to bundles.”
PS5 bundles also boost accessories
551,038 accessories and ancillary products were sold in the UK last month (GfK UK panel data), down 5.7% from June and down 4.8% from July last year.
Both the DualSense Wireless Controller White (No.1) and Black (No.2) continue to lead the way. The fastest-rising new accessory on the market is the Stealth C6-100 Gaming Headset from A4T, which has climbed 147 places to number 5. This is due to a bundle with the PlayStation 5 console at Argos.
“Also noteworthy in July was the increase in the Logitech Driving Force G29 wheel for PS4 and PS5 (No. 13) and the G920 for Xbox and PC (No. 14) — both big beneficiaries of Prime Week,” Bloch said.
July’s GSD UK Top 20 Video Games (Digital + Physical)
| Position | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | F1 22 (EA) |
| 2 | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Warner Bros) |
| 3 | Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rock Star) |
| 4 | FIFA 22 (EA) |
| 5 | Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar) |
| 6 | Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo)* |
| 7 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 |
| 8 | The Quarry (2K Games) |
| 9 | WWE 2K22 (2K games) |
| 10 | EA Spurs UFC 4 (EA) |
| 11 | Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft) |
| 12 | Elden Ring (Bandai Namco) |
| 13 | Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Nintendo)* |
| 14 | FIFA 22 (EA) |
| 15 | Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (EA) |
| 16 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Nintendo)* |
| 17 | Minecraft: Switch Edition (Nintendo)* |
| 18 | The Crew 2 (Ubisoft) |
| 19 | Grand Theft Auto Online (Rockstar) |
| 20 | Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft) |
* Digital data not available
Digital GSD data includes games from participating companies sold through Steam, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Nintendo Eshop. Major participating companies include Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, Embracer Group (including Gearbox, Koch Media, Saber Interactive), Focus Entertainment, Konami, Marvelous Games, Microids, Microsoft (including Bethesda), Milestone, Nacon, Paradox Interactive, Quantic Dream, Sega, Sony, Square Enix, Take-Two, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Nintendo and 505 Games are the notable absentees, alongside smaller studios.
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