.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=1140&h=570&dpr=1.5)
FIFA 22's launch week boxed sales were more than 35% lower than those of FIFA 21, but it won't be cause for concern for EA Sports.
FIFA 22 launched last weekend and easily took the number one spot in the UK boxed chart, surprising no one. The latest installment of the long-running football sim knocked Mario Kart 8 Deluxe down to number two even though the four-year-old Switch game's sales increased week-on-week for the third time in a row.
What might surprise FIFA fans is how much physical sales of the new game dropped during its debut weekend compared to FIFA 21. According to Gamesindustry.biz, FIFA 22's boxed sales in the UK were 35% lower during its first few days on sale than FIFA 21's were this time last year. While that might sound like an alarmingly high number on the surface, it probably won't have worried EA Sports.
In fact, the drop off of launch week physical sales between FIFA's 21 and 22 is actually a little less steep than the one between 20 and 21. Last year, FIFA 21's boxed sales during its launch weekend were 42% lower than the game that came before it 12 months prior. Its launch week digital sales in the UK, on the other hand, increased 31% year-on-year.
Although the digital download numbers for FIFA 22's first week won't be revealed until later this week, its continued drop in physical sales isn't a sign that the series is flagging. It's just a sign that more of its players are opting to buy a digital copy than a physical one. As a matter of fact, FIFA 21 was the first installment in the series to be downloaded digitally more than it was bought physically.
Odds are the launch of eFootball 24 hours before the arrival of FIFA 22 won't have had that much of an effect on its sales either. The free-to-play reboot of Pro Evo hasn't impressed during its first few days, earning itself the worst Steam rating of any game in the platform's history. Konami has apologized for the poor state of the game at launch and has vowed to make improvements as soon as possible.