Zelda and Nintendo Switch topped European games industry sales in May
Tears of the Kingdom is already the third-biggest game of the year based on its boxed sales alone
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Nintendo Switch dominated European games industry sales in May.
Software sales were up 33% year-over-year and hardware sales were up 40% compared to May 2022, driven by the release of the new Zelda game, according to GSD data published on GamesIndustry.biz.
The research firm’s software data covers physical game sales from major European markets and digital sales from most leading publishers, excluding Nintendo and 505 Games.
Based on three weeks of physical sales alone, Tears of the Kingdom is already Europe’s third best-selling game of 2023, trailing only FIFA 23 and frontrunner Hogwarts Legacy. It’s also the best-selling boxed game of the year.
In May, sales of the Switch exclusive were over 2.5x higher than those of Hogwarts Legacy. Warner’s title was the second best-selling game last month, with sales up 321% over April following the release of its PS4 and Xbox One versions.
The only other new release to make the top 20 chart was Lego 2K Drive at No.19.
Further reading
Switch ended PS5’s 4-month run as the UK’s best-selling console in May
On the hardware front, which doesn’t include data from Germany or the UK, Switch sales were up 39% year-over-year.
The jump helped Nintendo’s console retake the top spot ahead of PS5, despite sales of Sony’s console rising 81% compared to May 2022.
Xbox Series X/S sales were down 16% year-over-year.
Boosted by the release of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Switch ended PS5’s four-month run as the UK’s best-selling console in May.
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