According to retail trade body ERA (Entertainment Retailers Association), FIFA 16 sold 2.5 million units in the UK at retail in 2015, making it the 2nd biggest entertainment launch of the year.
Adele’s 25 album was the #1 entertainment launch of 2015 in the UK, moving 2.6 million units. However, as MCV notes, digital sales for music are included, while digital sales for video games aren’t. Additionally, since FIFA 16 carries a much higher retail price, it would easily be the #1 launch of 2015 in terms of revenue.
Collecting data from all three entertainment sectors – music, video, and games – ERA says games were up 10%, with console software up 1.6% to £866 million in 2015 thanks to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As well, digital game revenues were up 17% to £1.9 billion – which is higher than music and video combined.
Here’s the top ten entertainment products of 2015 in the UK, complete with estimated sales numbers:
- Adele ’25’ – 2,604,850
- FIFA 16 – 2,516,079
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 – 1,928,813
- Paddington – 1,180,437
- Fallout 4 – 1,126,929
- Jurassic World – 1,052,790
- The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies – 1,021,059
- Star Wars Battlefront – 1,018,884
- Ed Sheeran ‘X’ – 1,001,845
- Grand Theft Auto V – 998,726
The rest of the top 20 is filled with music and video releases, meaning no other video game sold more than 740,000 units in 2015 at retail, despite strong starts from games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Batman: Arkham Knight.
As VideoGamer notes, FIFA games for the last three years (FIFA 14, FIFA 15, FIFA 16) have either sold 2.5 million or 2.6 million units, while Call of Duty games for the last three years (Ghosts, Advanced Warfare, Black Ops 3) have either sold 1.8 million or 1.9 million. This also marks the third year in a row where Grand Theft Auto V appeared in the Top 10 (3.6 million in 2013, 1.3 million in 2014).
[Source: ERA via MCV, VideoGamer]
