Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s sales success continues — new data confirms it was the best-selling game of October in the U.S.
Fresh data from Circana also reveals Insomniac’s PlayStation 5 exclusive is the fourth best-selling game of 2023 so far in the U.S., behind only Hogwarts Legacy, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Madden NFL 24.
Spider-Man 2 sold more than five million copies in 11 days and became the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game over a 24-hour period when it sold more than 2.5 million copies in just one day. That sales milestone put Spider-Man 2 ahead of Santa Monica Studio’s God of War Ragnarok at the top of the PlayStation day-one launch sales chart.
According to Circana, Spider-Man 2 also led all titles in physical software dollar sales during October. Launch month dollar sales of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 exceeded those of September 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man by a double-digit percentage.
We wrote in our Spider-Man 2 review: "As a sequel in a spectacular series, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is both blessed and cursed... Insomniac refines a successful formula of combat and web-swinging without revolutionising either in major ways, making them comfy and familiar with just enough new tweaks and abilities to elevate them to fun new heights. The part that feels like it actually needed a radical rethinking is the open world of New York City, which has been made bigger but not better, with an exhausting checklist of mostly repetitious side activities."
Elsewhere, Nintendo Switch exclusive Super Mario Bros. Wonder debuted as the second best-selling game of October 2023, and currently ranks as the 21st best-selling game of 2023 year-to-date. Earlier this month, Nintendo said Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the first entirely new entry in the sidescrolling Super Mario series in about 11 years, sold 4.3 million units within the first two weeks of going on sale on October 20, a figure boosted by the astonishing success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie and heightened interest in all things Super Mario. Wonder is the fastest-selling Super Mario game ever, Nintendo said.
IGN’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder review returned a 9/10. “Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks and plays like the true next step for 2D Mario platformers,” we said. “Wonder effects change each stage in both surprising and delightful ways, the Flower Kingdom makes for a vibrant and refreshing change of pace, and Elephant Mario steals the show.”
And it sounds like Roblox’s PlayStation launch was a big hit. The controversial game creation platform ranked fourth across all PS5 games in U.S. monthly active users, according to Circana’s Player Engagement Tracker, behind only Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Fortnite, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
However, spending on video game content in October fell 4% when compared to a year ago to $3.6 billion. Circana put this down to the fact Modern Warfare 2 launched big in October last year, whereas Modern Warfare 3 counts towards November 2023’s data.
Video game hardware spending also fell 23% compared to a year ago to $327 million. All current generation consoles experienced a double-digit percentage decline in dollar sales when compared to a year ago, Circana said. PS5 remained the best-selling hardware platform in both unit and dollar sales during October 2023. Xbox Series ranked second in dollar sales, while Switch was number two in units. It’s worth noting year-to-date hardware spending is 6% higher when compared to the same period in 2022, at $4 billion.
Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all pushing the PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and Switch respectively during the crucial Black Friday and holiday season sales period. Sony has set an ambitious target of selling 25 million PS5s this financial year, which would be a record. It’s just released the PS5 Slim, which it hopes will provide a boost. Nintendo’s Switch push comes amid reports that suggest the Switch 2 is waiting in the wings for release in 2024.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
