Marvel’s Avengers defeat Tony Hawk and NBA to claim No. 1 | UK charts

It’s one of the top three entirely new hubs in the UK’s physical retail charts this week, led by Square Enix’s ambitious new Avengers game at number one.

The Marvel title was developed by Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics, and compared to the last game in the Tomb Raider series (Shadow of the Tomb Raider in September 2018, which only had a partial participation from Crystal Dynamics), this new game sold almost the same number of copies Physical at launch. In fact, Avengers sold 2% more boxed copies than the last Lara Croft during its first week.

Compared to Marvel’s last big video game, Spider-Man on PS4 (which also launched in September 2018), the numbers are drastically different. The Avengers sold less than a third of what Spider-Man was able to do in the UK during its debut week (physical sales only).

This Avengers game features a large online multiplayer component and is thus a completely different game from Spider-Man and Tomb Raider single player adventures. It also reaches the end of console generation and at the start of a new generation, and aims to be a service-based title. Therefore, its success won’t be determined in the first week, and it will depend on how the game develops from here and whether Crystal Dynamics can continue to engage (and monetize) a large audience over months and years.

Second is Activision’s latest monetization offering from its back catalog: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. The redesigned game has been well-reviewed, particularly compared to the last game in the series: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 of 2015 and as a result, the sales are packed into The first week of this new game is 448% higher than its disappointing predecessor. There is clearly some life in the ski franchise so far.

Rounding out the all-new top three is NBA 2K21. The game did not start with a best start in actual sales, with first week sales down 37% compared to NBA 2K20. Of course, it should be noted that digital sales are not included in these charts.

There is not much new to talk about. Animal Crossing: New Horizons drops to # 4 to make way for new releases. Meanwhile, price activity in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year Edition sees CD Projekt RPG return to the charts at 11th, with sales up 237%.

Overall, sales of boxed video games in the UK are up 37% this week compared to the previous week.

Here are the top ten GfKs for the week ending September 5th