The first week of January is a notoriously quiet week for boxed video game sales. It’s rare that we’ll see a release of any kind during this window, and of course most gamers will still be busy with their Christmas presents.
Still, it’s not a normal start to the year, with the UK heading for another full lockdown to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus. This may explain why more than 260,000 boxed games were sold in the UK last week, which is a third more than what was achieved in the same week last year.
The main driver of growth was Nintendo Switch, with games for the console dominating the boxed charts last week. In fact, Switch game sales are up more than 123% compared to the same week in 2020. Animal Crossing: New Horizons holds the top spot despite a 47% drop (it’s worth noting that sales declines during the first week of the year completely normal), followed by Mario Kart 8: Deluxe at number 2 (sales at 43%). At number 3 it is Just Dance 2021, which climbs two places despite a sales slide of 24%. Just Dance 2021 is available on all platforms, of course, but so far nearly 90% of the game’s sales have been on Nintendo Switch (physical sales only, digital sales not included).
There are 15 Switch exclusive items in the Top 40 this week, including Ring Fit Adventure at number 6 (sales up 24%), Minecraft at number 7 (sales down 35%) and New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe at number 9 (turnover down 32%). New Super Mario Bros has returned to the Top Ten in recent weeks following a new marketing campaign for the game.
It’s all getting really close, but a 42% drop in sales for Super Mario 3D All-Stars means the collection is ending its stay in the Top Ten and dropping back to No. 11.
Otherwise, it’s a pretty normal chart in general, with no new releases until Hitman 3 later in the month. For those following the Cyberpunk 2077 story, the CD Projekt game has dropped to No. 20 after a 59% drop in sales.
Here’s the GfK Top Ten for the week ending January 9:
| Last week | This week | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
| 3 | 2 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe |
| 5 | 3 | Just Dance 2021 |
| 2 | 4 | FIFA 21 |
| 4 | 5 | Assassin’s Creed Valhalla |
| 18 | 6 | Ring Fit Adventure |
| 7 | 7 | Minecraft (switch) |
| 9 | 8 | Grand Theft Auto 5 |
| 10 | 9 | New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe |
| 6 | 10 | Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War |