Last week was a big week for games, with the launch of Nintendo’s latest console, a brand new Legend of Zelda game and Sony also releasing Horizon Zero Dawn out into the wild.
A good few years into the PlayStation 4’s life, it’s not too surprising that Horzion Zero Dawn managed to bag the top spot, making for the biggest release of the year, the biggest new IP release on PlayStation 4 and their largest since Uncharted 4 last year.
However, Nintendo’s Switch has hardly flopped. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has had the third largest Zelda game launch, behind only Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, and has come in strongly in second place. 78% of those sales were for Switch as well, with more than a few people adopting the new platform.
That’s to the tune of 80,000 consoles in the UK which, while a fair bit behind the PS4 and Xbox One debuts – 250,000 and 150,000 – and not also quite a bit behind the 3DS – 113,000 – is double the opening weekend sales of the Wii U. In other words, it’s a nice start for Nintendo’s console, despite there only really being one marquee launch title.
Even 1-2-Switch did fairly well, coming in fourth, and Super Bomberman R was 7th, despite its eye-watering price tag.
Here’s the top 20:
| LW | TW | Title | Publisher |
| 1 | HORIZON ZERO DAWN | SONY COMPUTER ENT. | |
| 2 | THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD | NINTENDO | |
| 3 | 3 | GRAND THEFT AUTO V | ROCKSTAR |
| 4 | 1-2 SWITCH | NINTENDO | |
| 1 | 5 | FOR HONOR | UBISOFT |
| 4 | 6 | FIFA 17 | EA SPORTS |
| 7 | SUPER BOMBERMAN R | KONAMI | |
| 7 | 8 | ROCKET LEAGUE | 505 GAMES |
| 5 | 9 | SNIPER ELITE 4 | SOLD OUT |
| 6 | 10 | BATTLEFIELD 1 | EA GAMES |
| 8 | 11 | CALL OF DUTY: INFINITE WARFARE | ACTIVISION |
| 9 | 12 | RESIDENT EVIL 7: BIOHAZARD | CAPCOM |
| 11 | 13 | MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION | MICROSOFT |
| 14 | 14 | HITMAN: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON | SQUARE ENIX |
| 2 | 15 | HALO WARS 2 | MICROSOFT |
| 10 | 16 | FORZA HORIZON 3 | MICROSOFT |
| 13 | 17 | OVERWATCH | BLIZZARD |
| 27 | 18 | UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END | SONY COMPUTER ENT. |
| 19 | THE WALKING DEAD: THE NEW FRONTIER | TELLTALE GAMES | |
| 16 | 20 | WWE 2K17 | 2K |
Sources: Â UKIE, GamesIndustry.biz
ron_mcphatty
Good work Guerilla, that’s a well deserved top spot! And double good work to Nintendo, what a great start for the Switch.
double-o-dave
I’m getting well into HZD. I must have played for about 12 hours so far & according to the stats, I’m only 20% through the game – probably down to the fact I’ve been chasing bunny rabbits, racoons & rats. I’m not normally into stealth, but I’m enjoying getting sucked into the atmosphere and sneaking past herds of zoids.
JustTaylorNow
Same here lol stealth is very rewarding in this game, nothing like stealth killing a fox so you can get the travel pack.
double-o-dave
Yep… Tonight, I will be fishing for trout.
bunimomike
Read the reviews, succumbed to a purchase and haven’t regretted it one bit. Hannypoppie (other half) is playing it right now and then I’ll load into my PSN account tonight and crack on with my save.
Safe to say that we’re both loving it. Also, FU** ME!… it’s a good looking game. My god, Guerrilla have outdone themselves with how well it runs and how it looks.
So much so that it stopped me prematurely buying a PS4 Pro as it looks THAT good on the normal PS4.
ron_mcphatty
Good work Mike! Any comparison with Ark or are they totally different types of game?
double-o-dave
I managed to find it with a Pro for £350 – I haven’t even got a 4k TV yet, but apparently it does give it a couple of visual boosts on a 1080 set, not entirely sure what though – but yes, it looks amazing, especially considering its open world.
bunimomike
Ron – Nah, totally different beast. Sure, there’s “dinos” but this is all about Aloy’s journey and the fascinating world around her. Ark, on the other hand, is a survival simulator (as such) and lacks a story although I know Wildcard has ideas about that and have already put things in there to get people thinking.
The moment the genre shifts, it feels so very different. Saying that, there’s things I’d like Wildcard to learn from Guerrilla, that’s for sure (ie. dino movement, alert, hunting, scared, etc.). I feel like they’re doing a better job although Ark has a massive number of dinos so that’s harder to sort out.
TSBonyman
Delighted to see Guerilla’s brand new IP being so well received everywhere, i expect they’ll be attending a few award ceremonies this year.
And well done Nintendo, a good start thanks to providing possibly one of the best launch games ever for a console.
JR.
HZD has exceeded all expectations.
There are obvious similarities to Far Cry Primal and the recent Tomb Raider games but also Assassins Creed, Witcher 3, Uncharted, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Dragon Age and even Game of Thrones.
Guerrilla Games have taken the best bits of some of my favourite games in recent memory and created something very special indeed. But this is far from Frankenstein’s monster. HZD is the best looking game I have ever played, which is all the more remarkable considering the open world setting. I haven’t encountered a single glitch or bug in my 15+ hours so far which is almost unheard of in modern AAA games. Guerrilla Games have truly outdone themselves.
I think HZD will be to Guerrilla Games what Uncharted was to ND and they have a very bright future ahead of themselves. I can’t wait to see where they go from here.
gazzagb
On Friday, I was talking with a few people in work who are gamers, and a few of them didn’t even know the Switch had been released. It certainly feels like it’s had a bit of a low-key release, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen more buses advertising Horizon Zero Dawn than Switch in London.
bunimomike
To be fair, I was unsure of the actual date but knew it was soon. Shows that Nintendo clearly didn’t want to go with the full fanfare but look at the figures. Great opening sales.