Hold your horses, then! Initial information coming out of the UK was that Astro Bot may be underperforming, as its boxed sales were below those of 2021’s equally excellent Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. However, as we stressed at the time, digital splits have continued to increase in Britain over the past three years, and this early data never provided a full picture.
Now we have a clearer indication courtesy of Games Industry.biz’s Chris Dring, who reports that across physical and digital, Astro Bot’s first week sales in the UK are actually 21 per cent above Insomniac Games’ console exclusive platformer. The PS5 install base is obviously much larger now than it was when the latest Ratchet launched, but Astro Bot is also a less recognisable franchise overall.
It’s a reminder once more that UK physical sales should never be taken too seriously. In fact, it’s become difficult to buy boxed games in the country, as supermarkets have stopped stocking them and specialist retailer GAME has imploded. Trade-in stores like CEX are still relatively common on the high street, but they only deal in used products.
You can still order physical games online, but considering the state of the postal service, it’s easy to understand why players are transitioning to digital storefronts like the PS Store. Obviously this week Sony announced that it would ship PS5 Pro without a disc drive, although you will be able to purchase one separately if you choose.
