Black Friday creates biggest software week of 2017 thanks to bundles

Black Friday week was the biggest week of the year so far at retail. 

Software sales were up 89 per cent in units and 53 per cent in revenue week-on-week, driven by the wealth of PS4 and Xbox One bundles on offer last week. GfK noted in its report that, looking specifically at combined sales units of PS4 and Xbox One hardware, Black Friday sales were up three per cent compared to last year. Official bundles accounted for 83 per cent of all PS4 and Xbox One units sold.

There’s no surprise in the Top Ten, with Call of Duty: WWII keeping its top spot for the fourth consecutive week, with sales up 84 per cent. FIFA 18 gained one place to No.2 following a 237 per cent growth in sales, while Gran Turismo: Sport climbed from No.12 to No.3. Sales for Sony’s racing exclusive increased by an whopping 867 per cent, as it was on offer with most PS4 bundles last week.

Despite Black Friday, Star Wars Battlefront II dropped to No.4 for its second week on shelves, with sales only decreasing 43 per cent. It’s the only title in the Top Ten that saw its sales decrease.

Forza Motorsport 7, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and Fallout 4 did particularly well during Black Friday. At No.6, Forza saw its sales increase 332 per cent, while Wolfenstein II landed at No.7 with sales up 332 per cent. Fallout 4 climbed 14 spots to No.9 thanks to a 324 per cent growth. 

Meanwhile, Sony PlayLink titles Knowledge is Power and Hidden Agenda debuted respectively at No.14 and No.15. They were both bundled as part of the Black Friday deals, hence the good Week One sales. Sony also did pretty well with PlayStation VR Worlds, which was bundled with the PS VR Starter Pack. Sales for the title were up 226 per cent week-on-week as it charted No.11. Hardware sales for PS VR were also massively boosted by Black Friday and were on a part with launch week.

Here’s the UK Top Ten for the week ending November 25th (data courtesy of Gfk/Ukie):

1. Call of Duty: WWII (Activision)
2. FIFA 18 (EA Sports)
3. Gran Turismo Sport (Sony)
4. Star Wars Battlefront II (EA)
5. Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft)
6. Forza Motorsport 7 (Microsoft)
7. Wolfenstein II: The New Collossus (Bethesda)
8. Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
9. Fallout 4 (Bethesda)
10. Need for Speed Payback (EA)