Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive ($TTWO), released Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26 to astronomical success.
The game was exalted by critics and devoured by fans, a worthy successor to an already beloved franchise as Rockstar moves closer to creating an actual Westworld. Within the first three days of its release, Red Dead pulled in $725 million, well on its way to break the $1 billion mark by the end of the year.
Red Dead 2 is a game so coveted and sure-footed in its stature that it could already offer multiple editions of itself before its release; if another game appeared in both “Ultimate” and “Special” editions before a single member of the general gaming public tried it, its name escapes.
Between the three different versions of the game available and its dual release on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Red Dead 2 takes up five of the top 20 spots in Gamespot’s best-seller rankings during the month of October.
|
Name |
Category Rank (Average) |
|---|---|
|
PlayStation Store $10 Gift Card |
1.592593 |
|
PlayStation Store $20 Gift Card |
2.888889 |
|
Nintendo Switch Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Edition Console |
5.925926 |
|
PlayStation Store $50 Gift Card |
5.962963 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4) |
7.481481 |
|
$20 Xbox Gift Card |
9.962963 |
|
$10 Xbox Gift Card |
10.481481 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Edition (PS4) |
13.037037 |
|
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Xbox One) |
14.37037 |
|
$5 Xbox Gift Card |
14.555556 |
|
$50 Xbox Gift Card |
15.481481 |
|
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PS4) |
15.777778 |
|
PlayStation Classic |
16.296296 |
|
PlayStation Store $100 Gift Card |
18.740741 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox One) |
19.111111 |
|
Nintendo Switch Pikachu & Eevee Edition with Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! Bundle |
19.148148 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Edition (Xbox One) |
23.481481 |
|
Google Play $10 eCard |
25.444444 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Edition (PS4) |
29.555556 |
|
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) |
29.925926 |
Once again, gift cards dominate the Gamestop sales-rank charts as in previous months for obvious reasons (don't know what to get a gamer for a gift? Just give them a gift card). Taking out these cards gives us a clearer picture of Red Dead 2's success at Gamestop, as it takes up half the list of the top-ten games and consoles for the month.
|
Name |
Category Rank (Average) |
|---|---|
|
Nintendo Switch Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Edition Console |
5.925926 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4) |
7.481481 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Edition (PS4) |
13.037037 |
|
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Xbox One) |
14.37037 |
|
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PS4) |
15.777778 |
|
PlayStation Classic |
16.296296 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox One) |
19.111111 |
|
Nintendo Switch Pikachu & Eevee Edition with Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! Bundle |
19.148148 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Edition (Xbox One) |
23.481481 |
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Edition (PS4) |
29.555556 |
Meanwhile, away from the mud sodden arena of the Wild West, Nintendo is doing fine as the curator of more PG forms of combat, as its most anticipated release, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, claims two spots in Gamestop’s October top 20, one bundled with the Switch, and one not.
Nintendo’s semi-handheld Switch console, released in March 2017, has already sold about 23 million units as of the end of September. The console evoked suspicion before its debut––Nintendo was developing a reputation for gimmickry, which paid off well for the Wii and its motion-based gameplay, but less so for the Wii U, whose confused design was one of the company’s larger flops. But already, while the Switch has a long way to go before matching the success of the Wii, which sold more than 100 million consoles, it stands at double the figure moved of the Wii U, which sold a little under 14 million.
Nintendo correctly predicted the popularity Smash Bros. Ultimate, the latest in a franchise that pits various Nintendo characters against one another in a four-player platform battle, when it decided to launch a streaming service just for the game. And it’s perhaps a sign that the company’s role in the gaming landscape as the purveyor of non-intimidating, accessible games that fit anywhere from dorm rooms to nursing homes has paid off in the long run, despite occasional skepticism. It’s a mantle the company has carried since the early 1990s when it de-blooded Mortal Kombat, and there’s no better proxy to glean how its vision and strategy diverge from its competitors than the Gamespot figures: A one-person RPG set in a frontier of macabre individualization contra a group fighter where one character is sort of a marshmallow and another melees with an umbrella.
Meanwhile, Gamestop worst selling figures are a lookback at some interesting times in gaming history:
|
Name |
Name (Count) |
|
Pokemon Bulbasaur Heather Grey T-Shirt - Small |
38992 |
|
Pokemon Bulbasaur Sand T-Shirt - Large |
38880.42105 |
|
Stranglehold |
38870.6 |
|
Guitar Hero III - Game Only |
38868.24 |
|
Kinect Adventures |
38858.03846 |
|
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood |
38857.53846 |
|
Guitar Hero World Tour - Game Only |
38857.5 |
|
Guitar Hero World Tour - Game Only |
38856.69231 |
|
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Game Only |
38855.30769 |
|
Gears of War 2 |
38853 |
|
Damnation |
38851.57692 |
|
Rock Band 2 - Game Only |
38850.57692 |
|
Rock Band - Game Only |
38849.46154 |
|
Gears of War |
38848.65385 |
|
Game Party |
38848.07692 |
|
FIFA Soccer 2009 |
38847.88462 |
|
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa |
38846.76923 |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End |
38845 |
|
Tony Hawk: Ride - Game Only |
38842.95833 |
|
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - Game Only |
38839.45833 |
Someone grab a plastic guitar and a few Pokemon shirts for a time capsule; VH1 will need it for a nostalgic retrospective a decade from now.