Nintendo Switch dominates Top Ten as lockdown boosts game sales | UK Boxed Charts

The first week in January is a notoriously quiet one for boxed video game sales. It's rare we will see a release of any kind during this window, and of course most gamers will still be busy with their Christmas presents.

Yet the isn't any normal start to the year, with the UK heading into another full lockdown to try and curb the spread of coronavirus. This may explain why over 260,000 boxed games were sold in the UK last week, which is a third more than what was achieved during the same week this time last year.

The main driver of the growth was Nintendo Switch, with games for the console dominating the boxed charts last week. In fact, Switch game sales are up over 123% compared with the same week in 2020. Animal Crossing: New Horizons holds onto the top spot, despite sales dropping 47% (it's worth noting that sales drops during the first week of the year are entirely normal), followed by Mario Kart 8: Deluxe at No.2 (sales down 43%). At No.3 it is Just Dance 2021, which rises two places despite a 24% sales slide. Just Dance 2021 is available across all platforms, of course, yet almost 90% of the game's sales so far have been on Nintendo Switch (physical sales only, digital sales are not included).

There are 15 Switch exclusives in the Top 40 this week, including Ring Fit Adventure at No.6 (sales up 24%), Minecraft at No.7 (sales down 35%), and New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe at No.9 (sales down 32%). New Super Mario Bros has returned to the Top Ten these past few weeks following a fresh marketing campaign for the game.

It's all very close, but a drop in sales of 42% for Super Mario 3D All-Stars means that the collection ends its stay in the Top Ten, dropping down to No.11.

Otherwise, it's a pretty normal chart all round, with no new releases until Hitman 3 later in the month. For those following the Cyberpunk 2077 story, the CD Projekt game has dropped to No.20 after a 59% sales drop.

Here is the GfK Top Ten for the week ending January 9th: