With only a few days left before Christmas, there has been a major shakeup at the top of the UK's game sales chart. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has leapfrogged FIFA 15 for the title of best-selling game in the UK through the week of December 20th.
While the FIFA franchise has historically sold really well around the globe, especially in Europe, it appears Activision's latest COD title has the holiday edge. The jump to number 1 isn't that surprising, though, given that Activision already confirmed Advanced Warfare as the top selling game of the year, ahead of their other 2014 release Destiny.
After last year's Call of Duty: Ghosts failed to inspire the fan base, many speculated that the franchise's downward trajectory would continue. However, the critical and fan reception to Advanced Warfare has been mostly positive, pointing to the game's use of Exo Abilities as a major strength. That being said, sales do suggest Call of Duty has already peaked, and is unlikely to hit the same highs that Black Ops 2 and Modern Warfare 3 did.
Clearly the game was appealing enough to UK gamers to warrant its position on more Christmas lists than FIFA 15. Or it could just be that most diehard football fans already picked up FIFA 15 at launch, and are now using Christmas as an opportunity to get COD.
Here's the full list of best-selling games for the week ending December 20th:
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- FIFA 15
- Grand Theft Auto 5
- Far Cry 4
- Assassin's Creed: Unity
- The Crew
- Destiny
- Minecraft: Xbox Edition
- Minecraft: PlayStation Edition
- Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Other big sellers for the Christmas season include Grand Theft Auto 5, Far Cry 4, Assassin's Creed Unity, and the aforementioned Destiny. No surprise there as most of these franchises have been staples of the holiday top 10.
The most interesting thing we want to see by the time 2014 ends is how the launch of broken games impacted their sales during this past month. Games like Assassin's Creed Unity and Halo: The Master Chief Collection looked to be big sellers for the holiday, but then the problems started showing up and many started to turn their attention elsewhere. That may have been what helped Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare squeak out ahead of all them.
What games did you ask for/buy this holiday season? What do you think will be the best-selling game in December for North America?
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Source: Chart Track (via Joystiq)
Follow Anthony on Twitter @ANTaormina