Console and PC game sales fall in Europe during September | European Monthly Charts
Video game sales across Europe were down in September compared with the year before, according to the latest figures from GSD.
September 2022 was a five-week month, and as a result the numbers appear down 16% over September 2023. But this year was a four-week month. And so if we compare week 36 to week 39 (the like-for-like sales weeks), overall game sales are down just over 1%.
The main reason for the drop was this year's EA Sports FC 24. EA's new football game brand has got off to a strong start, but it is 10% down compared with the launch of FIFA 23 last year. It's worth noting that FIFA 23 had a particularly strong launch. If we compare EA Sports FC 24's launch with FIFA 22, and sales are actually only down 3.7%. EA had anticipated some initial decline as a result of the name change.
EA Sports FC 24 sold best in the UK, and was No.1 in all major European markets.
There was also a drop for the other big sports game of the month. NBA 2K24's opening three weeks on sale are down 17% compared with NBA 2K23.
The second biggest game of the month was also a new IP in the form of Xbox's Starfield. It was a strong launch for the game, which was also available day and date on Game Pass. However, the game couldn't unseat Forza Horizon 5 as Xbox's biggest game launch this geneation. Starfield's first four weeks on sale are 13% below what Forza Horizon 5 managed.
Of course, Game Pass data is unavailable and it's impossible to know how the game performed overall without this insight.
Starfield was No.2 in the UK and Germany. Whereas NBA 2K24 was No.2 in Italy and Spain. In France it was The Crew Motorfest, a game developed in the country, that claimed the No.2 spot.
Indeed, The Crew Motorfest (No.4) bucked the trend in
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