FIFA and Call of Duty are Christmas bestsellers that continue their winning streak

ON the music charts, Christmas used to be adored number one, and suddenly it was dominated year after year by X Factor and Pop Idol winners. Well, the same thing happened in gaming.

Although games like Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok have been on the rise at awards shows, FIFA 23 has been the best-selling this year, just like FIFA 22 the year before.

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In fact, in the almost 40-year history of the best-selling gaming charts, FIFA games occupy 10 of the top spots, matched only by the Call of Duty series.

This means that the two series take the top spot 50% of the years.

There are some outstanding games that have made the bestseller list, notably Sonic the Hedgehog 2, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Skyrim.

However, many of the other games topping the charts are film or television games, such as Ghostbusters, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

It seems that when consumers shop for video games, they tend to reach for the familiar.

The Call of Duty series and FIFA games are known to be essentially the same game with minor changes and improvements.

While licensed games remind us of the movies and shows we already know and love.

Even some older games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5 – a game originally released nine years ago – continued to sell well and crept into the top ten this year.

Some of this year’s critically acclaimed games sold well in the months following their release, but sales fell throughout the year.

Not a single new IP made the top ten all year except Elden Ring, which comes from the background of the popular Dark Souls games.

Looking at stats like these partially explains why new IPs are seen as a risk compared to existing fan favorites.

However, some newer series like Splatoon 3 and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope make it onto the charts despite only being a game or two behind them.

It looks like a game has to be absolutely outstanding to compete with these long-established series.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN.

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