Callisto Protocol Outsold in Debut Month in US by Mario Kart After Reportedly Missing Sales Targets
The NPD Group has released its analysis of US game sales for December and full year 2022. The full-year results aren’t shocking, but his December game sales chart in particular has some interesting tidbits that are a bit of a letdown. We discuss how well his two games, Callisto Protocol and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, have performed recently.
Callisto Protocol. It debuted at number 17 on the US sales charts (ranked by sales) in December, reached number 10 on the PlayStation charts, and has yet to crack the top 10 on Xbox at all. Not bad per se, but let’s be clear, Callisto is a new IP from a new studio. It couldn’t beat giants like Elden Ring or Call of Duty.
But it’s a little surprising that it did less than its competitors. I’m sure there was) and was beaten by even older Minecraft. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Another exclusive console that didn’t get a meaningful update in December.
It is also worth noting that the report indicates the Callisto Protocol failed to meet the company’s sales expectations After being billed as a “quadruple-A” game and having a very large budget. Not good news.
That’s the Callisto Protocol, but what’s going on with Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope? He cited it as one of multiple motivations behind the restructured business strategy, including cancellations and delays. His October release of this year, Sparks of Hope, saw him debut at No. 6 on the NPD in the month of launch, in November he dropped to No. 13, and in December he dropped to No. 14. .
We don’t have the actual sales numbers on hand, but it looks solid enough, especially considering it’s a Switch exclusive and Nintendo doesn’t share digital sales numbers.
So what does “underperforming” actually mean? I’m not sure what Ubisoft’s expectations were, but at least it’s interesting to compare the rankings to its predecessor Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. Kingdom Battle was released at the end of August 2017, but was not included in the August charts as it did not land during that month’s reporting period. but, September 2017 release period first appearance 5th place, Arguably, there was far less stiff competition (Destiny 2, for example, was the best-selling game of the month, and Call of Duty that year hadn’t been released yet).
Then it even mysteriously disappears from the top 20.Never cracked US rankings October, NovemberAlso December that year. Of course, you have to take this with a grain of salt – rankings don’t match specific dollar sales figures. All of this can be explained by particularly tough competition in a given month, games with varying amounts of money, or any number of games. Other strange quirks.
But it’s fascinating to see how Sparks of Hope is doing relatively well against its competitors even months after launch (beating out Callisto Protocol in December and last month’s third-best-selling It was a Switch title!), claims its developer and publisher. Not enough yet.
Overall, U.S. gaming spending reached $7.6 billion in December, up 2% year-on-year. Hardware saw his 16% increase, with the PS5 becoming the best-selling console by sales this month and the Nintendo Switch being the best-selling console by unit sales. On the other hand, spending on content and accessories decreased very slightly. Content, in particular, was hit by declines in mobile, subscription, and physical software spending, even as digital spending increased.
Total video game spending for the full year of 2022 fell 5% to $56.6 billion, as higher spending on hardware and subscriptions was offset by declines elsewhere. NPD Group analyst Mat Piscatella cited “continued supply constraints on console hardware, a relatively small slate of new premiums for his releases, and macroeconomic conditions” as factors impacting sales this year. is listed.
PS5 was the best-selling console for the year by revenue, and Switch was the best-selling console by unit sales. The best-selling game of the year was (not surprisingly) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, followed by Elden Ring.
Here are the top-selling games by December 2022 sales:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Pokemon Scarlet Violet
- War God Ragnarok
- Madden NFL 23
- FIFA23
- sonic frontier
- elden ring
- Need for speed: Unbound
- mario kart 8
- Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion
- NBA 2K23
- Just Dance 2023 Edition
- Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope
- Mine Craft
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- nintendo switch sports
- Callisto Protocol
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- splatoon 3
- Gotham Knights
And here are the best-selling games of the year:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- elden ring
- Madden NFL 23
- God of War: Ragnarok
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Pokemon Scarlet Violet
- FIFA23
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus
- Horizon II: Forbidden West
- MLB: Show 22
- mario kart 8
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Gran Turismo 7
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- NBA 2K23
- sonic frontier
- Gotham Knights
- Mine Craft
- nintendo switch sports
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Note that neither ranking includes digital sales data for published games, as Nintendo and Take-Two do not share digital sales data.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. you can find her on her twitter @duck valentine.
