Hideo Kojima’s latest creation has secured the top spot this week, but the numbers might tell a more complex story.Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which launched on June 26, claimed the #1 spot on the UK physical sales charts. However, its boxed sales fell 66% below the originalDeath Stranding’s 2019 debut sales.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Rated In South Korea
The Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee has just rated Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.
Now, before you hit that panic button, there’s context to consider here. Number one, is that the gaming landscape has shifted dramatically toward digital downloads since 2019, so really, making a direct comparison between these sales figures might mislead you.
That said, even with this decline, Kojima’s magic is very much in the air since this sequel managed to outsell everything else on store shelves last week.
Death Stranding 2 Beats Mario Kart World in Sales
I think we can all agree thatHideo Kojima is one heck of a video game designer.The guy is a golden goose at this very moment, and it showed when, all of a sudden,Death Stranding 2 immediately landed at #1 in the latest UK sales charts to push Mario Kart World to second place. Following them at #3 is Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition, #4 Hogwarts Legacy, and #5 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
This achievement is particularly notable given that Nintendo titles typically dominate physical sales, andMario Kart Worldperforms strongly on the physical charts week after week since it’s also included as a bundle edition for the Nintendo Switch 2. For a game that started out as a walking sim and is now outselling Mario and Cyberpunk, it shows that there’s a strong appetite for Kojima’s brand of storytelling.
In atweet by Christopher Dring, editor-in-chief of The Game Business, he broke down the sales figures and reminded us of the different eras we’re in. Despite being #1 in the UK, Death Stranding 2 has 66% lower sales than Death Stranding 1’s physical sales on launch, 33% lower than Astro Bot’s physical launch.
Astro Botwas known for having an unusually strong physical sales presence. In fact, just last year, 60% of its physical copies were sold in Europe. So it’s worth noting here that even against a physical-heavy release like Astro Bot, Death Stranding 2’s retail market numbers show that customers are shifting more and more to digital.
PlayStation’s Digital-Only Model Might Be a Factor
I think that a great contributor to Death Stranding 2’s lower physical sales numbers compared to the original game is Sony’s own decision to create a digital-only model for thePlayStation 5. It has created a sizable audience that couldn’t buy physical even if they wanted to. It’s a game-changing factor that didn’t exist whenDeath Stranding originally launched on the PS4.
That said, the real test for Death Stranding 2 won’t be week-one physical sales, but performance over the coming months, whether it’s disc or digital.
This is a game that turned package delivery into a true AAA title and who knows? Being #1 might be exactly where Death Stranding 2 needs to be in order to become more successful than the original game which sold 19 million copies. Sometimes the most important delivery is the one that arrives right on schedule, regardless of how it gets there.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
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Hideo Kojima wants to create a version of Death Stranding that can only be realized through film.
