PlayStation's Death Stranding debuts at No.2 in the UK boxed charts.


It's the second biggest PS4 exclusive and the second biggest new IP released this year, behind another PS4 exclusive -- Days Gone, which was released in April. Compared to that, Hideo Kojima's new title sold 36% fewer units at launch.


It's the first new game from Kojima since the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which arrived in September 2015 and was the most successful Metal Gear Solid launch to-date.


It means that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare retains No.1 for a third consecutive week. The Activision game continues to perform very well, with sales tracking 26% ahead of last year's Black Ops 4.


The arrival of Death Stranding means that Luigi's Mansion 3 takes a tumble down the charts. Nintendo's latest Switch game falls from No.2 to No.4 with a 59% drop in sales week-on-week.


There is a number of new boxed releases this week, with Need for Speed: Heat from EA arriving at No.5. The Need for Speed franchise has struggled in recent years and this new title sold 41% fewer boxed units at launch than 2017's Need for Speed: Payback. Note: Digital sales are not included in this data.


Need for Speed is one of three EA games in the charts. FIFA 20 holds on at No.3, while Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville hangs on at No.10. That game actually rose in sales this week by 10%, which means its fourth week on sale was bigger than its debut week (a rare feat in the UK physical charts). The shooter has also been a big hit as a download, and has sold far more digitally than it has physically.


Returning to new releases, a special Fortnite pack -- The Darkfire Bundle, published by Warner Bros - lands at No.7. Meanwhile, Mario & Sonic At The Tokyo Olympic Games debuts at No.8. It's the most successful Mario & Sonic title since the 2012 London Games, which was released on Nintendo Wii back in 2011.


Speaking of Nintendo Wii, there's a new Wii title in the charts this week -- Just Dance 2020 at No.15. Incredibly, the Wii version is the second most successful version of the game, accounting for 21% of all Just Dance 2020 sales. The Nintendo Switch edition accounted for 55% of sales, with the PS4 SKU accounting for 14% and Xbox One making up 10%.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...launch-of-2019