Nintendo Switch dominates the Top Ten as the lock increases sales of graphics games in UK boxes

The first week of January is notoriously quiet for selling video games in cash. It’s weird that we see a version of any kind during this window and of course most players will still be busy with their Christmas presents.

Still, it’s no normal start to the year, with the UK heading for another complete shutdown to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus. This may explain why more than 260,000 boxed games were sold in the UK last week, which is a third more than what was achieved during the same week last year.

The main engine of growth was Nintendo Switch, with games for the console dominating the boxing lists last week. In fact, Switch game sales are up more than 123% compared to the same week in 2020. Animal Crossing: New Horizons remains in first place, even though sales are down 47% (meaning sales are down during the first week of the year (totally normal), followed by Mario Kart 8: Deluxe at number 2 (sales are down 43%). At number 3, it’s Just Dance 2021, which climbs two places despite 24% sales. Just Dance 2021 is available on all platforms, of course, but almost 90% of game sales so far have been made on Nintendo Switch (physical sales only, digital sales not included).

This week there are 15 Switch exclusives in the Top 40, including Ring Fit Adventure at number 6 (sales 24%), Minecraft at number 7 (sales 35%) and New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe at number 9 (sales are falling 32%). The new Super Mario Bros. has returned to the Top Ten in recent weeks after a new marketing campaign for the game.

Everything is very close, but a 42% drop in sales of Super Mario 3D All-Stars means that the collection ends its stay in the Top Ten, dropping to number 11.

Otherwise, it’s a pretty normal graph, with no news until Hitman 3 later in the month. For those who follow the history of Cyberpunk 2077, the game CD Projekt has dropped to number 20 after a 59% drop in sales.

Here’s GfK’s Top Ten for the week ending January 9: