If we were gambling men, our money would have gone on Pokémon Scarlet being the more popular of the two new Pokémon adventures. This week’s UK chart proves that we should never be allowed to step foot into Ladbrokes – Pokémon Violet is the UK’s new no.1, with Pokémon Scarlet at #2.
The Dual Pack also managed to enter the top ten, arriving at #6. Together, they give the Switch top ten an all-new top three.
GamesIndustry.biz has crunched the numbers. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet had the biggest UK boxed game launch of the year, beating FIFA 23. They also claimed the second biggest launch for any Pokémon release, falling short of beating Sun and Moon on the 3DS. Sales were up 25% over Sword and Shield, and 56% higher than Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
The arrival of Scarlet and Violet also boosted console sales – last week saw more Switch consoles sold than any other week this year.
Review scores for Scarlet and Violet haven’t been exactly glowing – glitches and performance issues suggest Game Freak had their work cut out to get the duo out the door in time for Christmas. It’s hoped the next Pokémon game will receive a longer development cycle.
God of War: Ragnarok falls to #4 during its second week on sale with FIFA 23 holding onto #3. It’s likely that EA’s soccer sim will return to no.1 next week with the World Cup now underway.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II also fell, going from #2 to #5. Horizon Forbidden West remained at #7, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Nintendo Switch Sports fell to #8 and #9.
Then at #10 it’s Sonic Frontiers, which debuted at #4 last week. A Black Friday price cut may see it bounce back – it’s currently £28 at Amazon.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me entered at #16 in the all formats chart while also breaking the PS5 and Xbox Series top tens. Goat Simulator 3 barged in at #31, while Farming Simulator 22 made an appearance at #37. It appears that the PC version was the biggest selling.
Expect the next chart to receive a shake-up thanks to retailer promotions. Evil West and Just Dance 2023 may enter the top 20 too, quite possibly the top ten. Oddly, Just Dance always has stronger second week sales, suggesting word of mouth still fuels sales for this one.