Days Gone tops monthly physical sales charts

PlayStation 4 exclusive Days Gone topped the UK physical charts for the month of April 2019. Considering the game was only released on April 26 that is a significant achievement, though perhaps not one of Sony’s most successful game launches.

Days Gone sold 38.8 percent less physical copies at launch than Horizon Zero Dawn, also a new IP. Some of that may be due to the increasing shift towards digital game purchases, but the sense of a “lukewarm” reception for the game is backed up by Metacritic data. Days Gone is listed on the site with an underwhelming metascore of 72 out of 100 (based on 95 critic reviews of the game).

Second place in the GfK/Ukie monthly charts for April is claimed by Mortal Kombat 11, another late April release. Again, the title’s physical launch sales were significantly down on a comparable predecessor, 2015’s Mortal Kombat X, which claimed 43.6% more sales on launch. Warner Bros have, however, indicated that Mortal Kombat 11 has enjoyed the most successful launch in the series. It remains to be seen whether digital sales data backs this up.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 and From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, last month’s 1 and 2, both saw significant sales drops in April. The Division 2 managed to hold onto third place in the charts, despite a 67% month-on-month drop, but Sekiro fell all the way to eighth with a 62% drop.

The middle of the top ten is packed with titles so big their sales performance is almost evergreen: FIFA 19, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Merio Kart 8: Deluxe.

The only other new game to make the top ten this month is Mad Dog’s World War Z, a zombie shooter that has performed well as an exclusive in the Epic Games Store and took ninth place on the charts.

Nintendo were this month’s bestselling publisher. A strong presence in the top ten courtesy of Yoshi’s Crafted World, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and New Super Mario Bros U. Deluxe undoubtedly contributed to this as the Switch continues to outpace the Xbox One as Sony’s chief rival.

The PlayStation 4 does, however, remain the undisputed top dog in the console market. The fact that 49% of all physical games sales in April were for the PS4 highlights this. Days Gone may not be Sony’s finest game, but their flagship console remains in rude health.

Below is the monthly chart of best-selling video games in the UK in April 2019:

1. Days Gone – Sony
2. Mortal Kombat 11 – Warner Bros
3. Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 – Ubisoft
4. FIFA 19 – EA
5. Red Dead Redemption 2 – Rockstar
6. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Nintendo
7. Yoshi’s Crafted World – Nintendo
8. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – Activision
9. World War Z – Mad Dog
10. New Super Mario Bros U. Deluxe – Nintendo