The weekly UK chart results have made for disappointing reading for Nintendo in the past few weeks; not much has changed this time around, though there are a couple of interesting points to consider.
First of all, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has surprised no-one in arriving at number one, though its sales are well down on last year's Black Ops III, with a drop of over 43% on the PS4 and Xbox One releases. That's the headline story from a multi-platform perspective, in any case.
From a Nintendo perspective there's only one title in the top 40, with Mario Kart 7 making its return in 34th place. We suspect that hardware bundles will have helped with this one, especially as recent weeks have seen some discounts in UK stores.
The other notable story this week is, sadly, a rather negative one. SEGA 3D Classics Collection has made practically zero impact, perhaps not helped by being a retail exclusive to Argos in the UK. As readers have pointed out the retailer sometimes offers good gaming deals, but it's still not a conventional store that advertises products clearly on shelves, nor is it associated (by many) as an outlet to buy game exclusives. There was also very little advertising to advise UK 3DS owners that physical copies could only be found at Argos outlets.
Not only has this excellent collection missed the all-format top 40, but it's actually nowhere to be seen in the 3DS-only top 50 chart, which is a shocking state of affairs. Even if it's somehow been excluded from the results - which is extremely unlikely - it seems to have fared little better on the eShop. A look at the latest 3DS eShop charts on our UK unit shows the game isn't even in the top 20 as a download - the only release from last week currently in that chart is Ice Station Z in 8th place.
Not a good week, all told, for Nintendo UK or notable releases on its hardware.
[source chart-track.co.uk]
Comments 43
That's sad.
I'm enjoying the Sega 3D Classics Collection very much.
I'm in Australia but I honestly cannot find this game anywhere.
Tragic. Not sure why it was an Argos exclusive. I guess the fact that most of the games are already available on the eShop will have had an impact too. Anyone who is interested will already own most of the titles, and TBH the bonus games aren't exactly essential.
An earlier release would have helped a lot.
I own all the individual eShop releases, the main reason I'd want to pick up the game is for Power Drift and Puyo Puyo 2. Wish they just got separate releases on the eShop.
@EllenJMiller Puyo Puyo 2 and Power Drift recently came out on the japanese eShop, so maybe they will arrive in Europe and the US at a later time.
What can you say?
It's a shame, undoubtedly the (negative) impact here is the Argos exclusivity. I hope that Sega doesn't take this abnormal situation into account when they have to decide whether the vol. 3 will come to Europe.
It's not that great a collection to be honest. I like that they remastered these for 3D but the selection of games is pretty crappy when compared to previous SEGA collections.
Kind of get the impression that the exclusive release is just to test the market before deciding whether or not to give the next compilation in the series a full release over here.
Well that's a shame about Sega's 3D Classics. But, to be fair, I didn't see it advertised anywhere or in any shops or whatever.
PS. What a stupid idea to make is exclusive to Argos.
The website i ordered from (webhallen) doesn't seem to have gotten a single copy of the game.
@Plainsville both EBGames and JBhifi are selling it.
Oh...I didn't even know this came out. But then again, I have most of the games I want on eShop already so...
Does Nintendo release Switch in the UK? Seems like a recipe for losing money. That country is Sony/MS territory almost exclusively anymore.
I'm surprised many people didn't know about this compilation, this worsens the situation even more. Exclusivity to test the market? What's the point in doing this? It's like wanting it to fail...
I don't think it's a crappy selection. First of all, this same compilation is available in Japan, and the games included are interesting, although not AAA, and only one of two shouldn't be there. Anyway, it's much cheaper than purchasing each one of them separately in the eShop.
Finally, it isn't just the zillionth Sega compilation, these games are rebuilt for the new features and above all the stereoscopic 3D. It's a shame many people don't see that
I fear that this may prevent future Classic Collections from arriving, this is such a shame, I really want Sega Classic Collection 3.
Too late for a compilation when most of the games have been released a long time ago.
I won't buy it just for a couple of the games.
Hope they release the rest as standalone on E-shop.
Ok. Now tell us
1. Why this is exclusive to Argos.
2. Is it worth £25.
3. Other discount sites would have sold this at £19.99.
@XCWarrior Im curious too. Why waste money at this point?
Well for more grim reading GAME only shows Sun and Moon as a pre order alongside Dishonoured and on their app have next to no 3DS games listed for preorder. Not even Woolly World.
Hell i dont think they even stock amiibo or wii u items in my local. Just a tiny 3DS stand hidden behind blurays. I think vita is more prevelant acctually.
I'm not from UK, so I can't speak for how it was released there, but I had a devil of a time tracking down the game here in Norway.
I think this is what can be commonly called, 'waiting for March 2017'.
The exclusivity won't help. I bought it, however. £25 is slightly steep, but all the games have been rebuilt specifically for the 3DS, they have added extras, and 4 of the games have never been released in Europe. It's worth it to me.
@XCWarrior Eh?
£25 is too much, I think £15 would have been a better deal
Didn't even know it was released
To be honest the collection isn't even good, i have streets of rage 1,2, sonic 1,2, Outrun, Shinobi 3 and Guardian heroes and there all great 3D classics, this collection is full of poop games so why would anyone bother.
@EllenJMiller You never know, if this flops enough they might bring them separate .
I picked up a copy this morning from my local Argos, solely for Power Drift. I've already dowloaded a good few of the games on the cart but I've been waiting sooooooo long for a quality port of what was a childhood fave of mine at the Arcades that I had to pick it up. Is it worth £25 of your hard earned money? Probably not if you already own a lot of the games already UNLESS , like me, you love Power Drift (or Puyo Puyo 2) Great ports and I suspect physical copies could become a bit of a rarity
As has been said already, this bombed as most people had already downloaded the ones they wanted, and the extra titles aren't Sonic or Streets of Rage quality. Not a shock at all.
I've asked my parents nicely to pick me up a copy for Christmas, which I believe they have now. I think this sucker is probably going to become one of these ridiculously hard to find games within a few years, which means it's more important to pick up a copy now if you want it and care about physical releases.
I grew up playing a Mega Drive so I can't wait to have this compilation to play on the go. I wonder if 3D Flicky would ever be a thing?
@Damo An Argos exclusive? Lol that's so bizzare, who even goes there anymore? No wonder it's not doing well sales-wise.
Wow, I have NEVER bought a game from Argos... I'm guessing whoever made that exclusivity deal doesn't live in the UK. If I was buying Lego I might browse an Argos catalogue. If I'm buying a game I go to GAME or look online.
Its a small collection of games, I can't say I'm surprised it sold poorly, Sega couldhave made a much bigger collection
Hopefully 3d classics will be in the bargain bin soon so I can get on the cheap.
So SEGA 3D Classics is doing modestly then.
Up to Pokemon now (Though I'm sure Nintendo will earn a fair bit out of the NES Mini this week), with reports that Sun and Moon are the most preordered games in Nintendo history and the demo being the most downloaded software on the eShop ever, it could even reach the top of the charts for a change.
Well I brought a copy on Saturday. The Oxford city centre Argos should have a copy left still if anyone wants to pick it up. I already had a couple of the titles, but this seemed a good way to get a bunch of ones I didn't have, Plus Ultra! Well, plus Power Drift and Puyo anyway. Puyo single player is Really Hard though.
My 3DS's memory card has been running out of space, so maybe I'll delete the ones I already have to free up space for other stuff?
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare's launch sales are down nearly 50% from Black Ops 3's launch sales. It is the lowest selling COD game since COD4 Modern Warfare back in 2007. Assuming the game experiences a similar sales decline in other regions across the world, there is a possibility that global sales of FIFA 17 and Pokémon Sun/Moon may exceed that of Infinite Warfare by the end of the year. In other words, Activision f**ked up really badly...
Combine this with Titanfall 2's abysmal sales performance of selling a mere 25-30% of what its predecessor sold, and you have a scenario where the combined launch sales of Infinite Warfare, Battlefield 1, and TitanFall 2 can't even top the launch sales of last year's Black Ops alone. The shooter market is not only too overcrowded this holiday, but it has prematurely hit saturation point as well.
None of the games on the collection are really that outstanding to be honest. Everybody who wants to play Sonic has played it to death by now, Altered Beast is....meh, same for Galaxy Force and Thunderblade. So that leaves Puyo Puyo 2 and Fantasy Zone 2.
They'd have been better doing a Streets Of Rage collection or something, and then included some other games like Shinobi, Shadow Dancer or Golden Axe...games with a lot more weight behind them.
Plus also, most people will be spending money on the NES Mini at the mo, and there's been a few big hitter releases out for the PS4 and XB1 like Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Skyrim Remastered and Call Of Duty....and Pokemon is out soon. Most people aren't rich, so some games will fall by the wayside sadly.
Shame, the Sega collection has some great, and even obscure games included, with some great customizable options for them.
@HipsterDashie i all so grown up with a saga megdrive to al so pokemon blue to
Worth £25? I'm not so sure. But the 3D effect on some of the titles is astounding. Makes me feel like Nintendo really missed a trick. Any of the top down Zeldas looking like that would blow my mind.
The 3D effect is pretty decent but the games selection is mystifying. Even as a massive Puyo fan, I was a little confused why they would include Puyo 2, without even translating it to English. I can't remember any time in history where you could buy a Nintendo game in the UK in PAL format and have it not translated.
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