October was a busy month, seeing the launch of a number of major new titles, and many of them performed well in the United States upon release, as per sales data for the month shared by Circana analyst Mat Piscatella on BlueSky.
Unsurprisingly, on top of the software charts for the month is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which has also instantly become the third-highest selling game of the year in the US. In terms of dollar sales, its launch is 23 bigger than that of last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with 82 percent of its October sales coming on PS5 and PS4.
Trailing behind in second place is Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO, which has also got off to a quick start. It has instantly become the fourth-highest selling game of the year in the US, in addition to becoming not only the bestselling Dragon Ball game in the US to date in dollar sales (yes, already), but also Bandai Namco’s third-highest selling game of all time in the region, behind Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3.
In third place in the charts we have Konami and Bloober Team’s remake of Silent Hill 2. It’s already become the No. 2 bestselling game in the Silent Hill series in the region to date, behind the original Silent Hill 2.
Meanwhile, several other major titles that launched in October also occupy in the US’ charts for the month, with Steel City Interactive and Plaion’s Undisputed (No. 4), Atlus and Sega’s Metaphor: ReFantazio (No. 5), BioWare and EA’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard (No. 6), Nintendo Cube and Nintendo’s Super Mario Party Jamboree (No. 7), Sonic Team and Sega’s Sonic X Shadow Generations, and Deck Nine and Square Enix’s Life is Strange: Double Exposure (No. 18).
On the hardware side of things, consumer spending in the US dropped 23 percent in October year-on-year, with a total of 604,000 hardware units sold (down from 759,000 in October last year). PS5 was the bestselling console of the month in the US in dollar and unit sales, while Xbox Series X/S took second place in both metrics. However, all consoles saw a year-on-year drop in sales, with Switch dollar sales slipping by 38 percent, PS5 sales by 20 percent, and Xbox Series X/S sales by 18 percent.
October 2024 Top 20 Best-Selling Premium Games – U.S. (Dollar Sales, Physical and Digital from digital data sharing publishers, excludes add-on content)
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.215Z
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was October’s best-selling video game, debuting as the #3 best-selling game of 2024 YTD. Over each title's first two weeks in market, full game dollar sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 were 23% higher than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III a year ago.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.217Z
PlayStation platforms accounted for 82% of Call of DutSouth Africa sports Bettingy: Black Ops 6 total console full game dollar sales volume during the October tracking period.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.218Z
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero was the #2 best-selling game of October and ranked as the 4th best-selling game of 2024 year-to-date.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.219Z
After just one month in market, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero became the best-selling Dragon Ball game in U.S. lifetime dollar sales and ranked 3rd among all Bandai Namco Entertainment published titles in history, trailing only Elden Ring and Dark Souls III.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.220Z
Silent Hill 2 (2024) debuted as the #2 best-selling Silent Hill game in lifetime dollar sales, trailing only the original Silent Hill 2. It ranked 3rd among all video games in October full game dollar sales and at #28 for the 2024 year-to-date period.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.221Z
Video game hardware spending dropped 23% in October when compared to a year ago. Switch dollar sales fell 38% year-on-year during October, while PS5 declined by 20% and Xbox Series showed an 18% decrease.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.226Z
PlayStation 5 was once again the best-selling hardware platform in both unit and dollar sales for the month, with Xbox Series ranking 2nd across both measures.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.227Z
604k units of new video game hardware sold in October 2024 across Arcade, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Plug-N-Play, and Xbox Series platforms. This is down from the 759k units sold a year ago.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T14:00:03.228Z
AC Milan are interested in Noa Lang from Club Brugge in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that although Brugge do not want to sell the winger, they could cash in on him if they get an offer of €20 million.
Lang has made 21 starts and eight substitute appearances in the Jupiler Pro League so far this season, scoring eight goals and providing five assists in the process. The 23-year-old Netherlands international winger also played four times in the UEFA Champions League this campaign.
AC Milan, who won the league title last season, are sixth in the Serie A table at the moment with 57 points from 32 games. Meanwhile, Club Brugge are currently fourth in the Belgian First Division A table at the moment with 59 points from 34 matches.
Real Betis claim a computer problem has scuppered their bid to sign Pablo Fornals from West Ham.
Spanish midfielder Fornals had agreed a £7million switch to the LaLiga club on deadline day, but the deal failed to go through.
The development came hours after French side Lyon accused West Ham of a “lack of respect” and “incomprehensible behaviour” after the 11th-hour collapse of their move for Hammers winger Said Benrahma.
Betis CEO Ramon Alarcon is hopeful the Fornals deal can still go through, however.
He told Spanish reporters: “There was a last-minute problem with Fornals, we think it was a computer problem.
“Betis sent all the documents correctly and on time and it seems West Ham had a computer problem. It wasn’t just with Betis …
Jurgen Klopp has his sights set on DFB-Pokal glory ahead of Borussia Dortmund s quarter-final against Hoffenheim.
Dortmund have featured in two of the last three Pokal finals, beating Bayern Munich to seal a league and cup double in 2012 and losing to their great rivals in last year s showpiece.
Klopp s men are licking their wounds after another defeat to Bayern in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with former Dortmund star Robert Lewandowski netting the winner at Signal Iduna Park.
The Dortmund boss wants his team to bounce straight back from that disappointment by taking another step towards the Pokal final.
Hoffenheim is far from being our dream draw, Klopp said. Hoffenheim are a highly talented team with outstanding players.
Chelsea F.C. midfielder Oscar has insisted he has no plans to leave Stamford Bridge amid reports suggesting Jose Mourinho is ready to listen to offers for the player.
The Brazil international, who joined Chelsea from Brasileirão side Internacional for a fee of around £20 million in the summer of 2012, has tallied six goals and seven assists in 26 English Premier League appearances for the Blues this season.
However, Oscar s long-term future remains up in the air, especially when considering Mourinho paid £23.3 million to land Juan Cuadrado from Italian Serie A side Fiorentina in January.
I m very happy here, said Oscar, who has been substituted in 18 of 24 league appearances in 2014/15. I get along with everyone, and the club shows its praise…
Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina claimed those opposed to the resumption of the 2019-20 Serie A season don t like football or Italians .
Serie A was suspended indefinitely in March due to the coronavirus pandemic and the FIGC has already stated that the campaign will not resume until the health and safety of all concerned can be guaranteed.
Italy s minister for sport Vincenzo Spadafora is hoping to confirm a May 4 date for the return to Serie A training as soon as possible, with the current restrictions on movement and outdoor activities set to end on May 3.
Defending champions Juventus were a point clear of Lazio through 26 games at the time of postponement and Gravina hit out at those calling for the cancellation of the season.
The death of Ayrton Senna on this day 26 years ago was a chilling moment in sporting history.
Already a motorsport great by the time of the crash that ended his life, Senna is remembered as one of the most accomplished and toughest drivers to have ever got behind the wheel.
Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard landed a punch for the ages to become middleweight world champion on May 1, way back in 1957.
And only last year, Lionel Messi struck a wonder-goal against Liverpool that at the time looked to have sunk Jurgen Klopp s side s hopes of reaching the Champions League final.
It was his 600th goal for Barcelona, but there 0000011F was a twist left in the tie.
Whilst the media and fans and, if you believe the press, the players are all more interested in the treatment of Mark Hughes at Manchester City, Roberto Mancini has taken the reins in a calm and unassuming way.
Scudetta
Little is really known about the forty-five year old Italian as a manager although three consecutive Scudetta titles with Inter does look good on paper.
Many people have said that those Italian titles were won by default, but they still had to be won. Having said that, I’m not sure that his record qualifies him to be called an experienced manager as City have referred to him.
Impressed
In his short time at Leicester City as a player when he made just four appearances he apparently impressed everyone w…
Rafa Benitez showed the first signs of uncertainty around his position at Liverpool at the weekend when he said, “If I decide to stay here it will be because of the fans.” Much was made of the word ‘if’ but it could, of course, have been a simple slip of the tongue.
With rumours growing about his possible sacking or resignation and former Liverpool stars queuing up to say that he should go, Benitez must have been looking to the club’s beleaguered owners to show him some support. He may have been somewhat surprised, albeit pleasantly, to see that support given.
Speaking to a radio station in Canada, Liverpool co-owner George Gillett said,
We believe if you were to put a list together of the top five coaches, managers in the worl…
Former Tottenham captain Gary Mabbutt says Dele Alli must learn to curb his temper if he is to realise his potential in Mauricio Pochettino s team.
Since moving to the Premier League from MK Dons, Alli has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence and is now a key player for club and country.
However, the England international has not always made headlines for the right reasons.
His 2015-16 season was prematurely ended when he punched West Brom midfielder Claudio Yacob to earn a three-match ban, while another red card against Gent last week stunted Tottenham as they suffered Europa League elimination.
And Mabbut says Alli – who scored in Sunday s 4-0 win over Stoke City – must recognise that provocation will continue to come his way.
Bayern Munich have confirmed that head coach Pep Guardiola will leave the club at the end of the season and be replaced by former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who has agreed a three-year contract.
Reports this week suggested Guardiola had made the decision not to renew his contract with the reigning Bundesliga champions, who have now confirmed that he will indeed say farewell at the Allianz Arena come June 2016.
Ancelotti, meanwhile, was sacked by Madrid at the end of last season after a two-year spell in charge, which had seen him win the Champions League in his first campaign and will return to management with Bayern from July 1.
He said of his appointment: I am very honoured that from next season I will coach a great club in FC Bayern.
