USA Charts: Dragon's Dogma 2 performs well, Helldivers 2 endures in March – News

On paper, the consoles could give the impression of a lot of fatigue. Revenues generated by console sales fell by 32% compared to March 2023 to reach $391 million. Whether we're talking about the PS5, the Xbox Series or the Switch, they all experienced an annual decline of around 30%. The PS5 remains at the top of sales in volume and value, for the month of March as well as for the entire first quarter of the year. The Switch and the Xbox Series are competing for second place, with Nintendo's console having the advantage in volume and Microsoft's in value. This decline in sales, however, is not abnormal and must be contextualized: the start of 2023 corresponded to the end of the shortage of the PlayStation 5, which took the opportunity to establish historic sales. The start of 2024 could therefore only result in a decline in comparison, especially since at the same time the Xbox Series is not taking off and the Switch is getting ever closer to retirement.

According to best estimates available for March 2024, the PS5 is around 525,000 consoles sold, which remains excellent and well above the 400,000 PS4s sold during the equivalent month (March 2017). Note that the console benefited from promotions in March and that the PS5 Digital Edition also gained ground (this model represented 39% of PS5 sales in March), two factors which must also be taken into account when we talk about a decline in the figure business. The Switch and Xbox Series are respectively estimated at around 235,000 and 205,000 sales in March. For Mat Piscatella of Circana, there is therefore no reason to be alarmed, even if he agrees that the release of a Switch 2 would have done good this year.

With its 2.5 million sales worldwide in less than 2 weeks, Dragon's Dogma 2 shone in the United States and took first place in the ranking, not only against the other releases of the month (Rise of the Ronin , Princess Peach Showtime) but also facing the Helldivers 2 phenomenon which we will talk about again shortly. Capcom's franchise truly changes dimension with this second opus, whose launch sales have already exceeded the total combined sales of Dragon's Dogma and Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. Remember that Circana always talks about “sales” in dollars and not in the number of copies sold. In any case, Hideaki Itsuno's action-RPG completes another high-profile fiscal year for Capcom.

Helldivers 2 at the table of the greatest

It is perhaps because Dragon's Dogma 2 is sold for 70 dollars against 40 dollars for Helldivers 2 which the latter settles for second place in March. But make no mistake, Arrowhead Game Studios' game remains by far the best-selling title since the start of the year and its sales in dollars already make it the 7th biggest PlayStation Studios game all year. generations combined. You are probably wondering who are the first 6? In order, Mat Piscatella reveals that they are Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, God of War, God of War Ragnarok and Ghost of Tsushima. As unexpected as it may seem, Helldiverse 2 has therefore already generated more money in the United States than any game The Last of Us, Uncharted, Horizon or Gran Turismo. The PC obviously plays an important role in this phenomenal success, but Mat Piscatella brushes aside the theory according to which democracy would not have triumphed on the PS5 alone. “ To be clear, the PS5 version would make Helldivers 2 the best-selling game in the US so far this year. The same goes for the PC version. Both versions are huge successes “, he posted on X. This is what is said.