It’s 2010, and I can’t wait to play Donkey Kong Country on the Nintendo Wii, the series’ first entirely new entry since 1996. No, wait, that doesn’t sound right.
It’s 2011, and I can’t wait to play Bethesda’s new massive RPG, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on my PS3 a day earlier than the rest of the world. Hmm, I don’t think that’s right either.
How about this instead: it’s 2013, my mid-semester uni break just started, and I have no other plans than to pour hours into the lawless world of Grand Theft Auto V.
Hang on a moment; what year is it again?
Based on the latest Australian game sales charts, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stepped into a time machine. Published by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA), the local industry’s peak body, the top-10 best-selling video games for the week are there for all to see.
Let me present to you Australia’s top sellers between 13-19 January 2025:
In chronological order of original release date, there are games from 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015 respectively. That’s not the full picture of this particular week, so let’s take a closer look.
Let’s do the time warp again
Skyrim first came out in 2011, while the enhanced Special Edition is from 2016. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a 2025 Nintendo Switch remaster of a 2014 Nintendo 3DS port of a 2010 Nintendo Wii game. Still following me?
Then there’s Grand Theft Auto V, which has sold more than 205 million copies across three generations of console hardware since arriving on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013. It’s still one of Take-Two Interactive’s biggest earners, largely thanks to the constantly updated Grand Theft Auto Online multiplayer mode.
To borrow The Late Show‘s impersonation of legendary sports commentator Bruce McAvaney: I could go on and on. And I will.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is another game that could outlast humanity. After appearing on Nintendo’s ill-fated Wii U console in 2014, it joined the Switch roster in 2017, replete with the original version’s DLC for added value.
Rounding out the evergreen entries is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft’s competitive shooter from 2015. As the charts show, folks are still keen to breach and clear 10 years on.
How do the charts work?
It’s not uncommon to see older games represented in the top 10 sellers; I’m not sure GTA V has ever dropped out since it launched. What is remarkable is how many legacy titles are included, especially after a 2024 positively filled with outstanding games.
But how representative is IGEA’s weekly charts of the entire market? Is it just boxed copies from brick-and-mortar retailers, or is the data more comprehensive?
It’s tricky to get a full picture because sales data is commercially sensitive information. Accessing such data from industry analysis firms is limited to those who can afford it.
In the case of IGEA’s weekly charts, the information comes from a Belgian company called Sparkers, which works with local games industry bodies to produce the Game Sales Data project. IGEA confirmed that the charts include both physical and digital sales from platforms and publishers that choose to provide their data.
According to a section on Sparkers’ website, some of the reported digital storefronts include the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Nintendo eShop, and Steam. However, it appears that in-game purchases, or microtransactions, don’t count as sales under the current system. Free-to-play games like Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, and Marvel Rivals – the latter two currently topping the Steam revenue charts – aren’t featured on IGEA’s charts.
Still, it’s a fair indication of what people buy up-front before factoring in purchases made while playing the game.
The Australia video game charts tell a familiar story
One thing that can be safely extrapolated from IGEA’s charts is a known global trend. People spend more time and money on familiar games.
A widely reported 2024 study found that of the time spent playing games in 2023, roughly 60% of it was on games six years or older. Only 8% of playtime came from new releases not part of an annual launch cycle like NBA 2K, EA Sports FC, etc.
Looking at the IGEA charts again, the data adds up. Only Super Mario Party Jamboree and Hogwarts Legacy are games less than six years old that don’t have yearly entries. Technically, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD could also qualify – it’s a 2025 release, albeit of a much older game. Granted, the other two games also stem from wildly popular IP.
There are plenty of other takeaways to discuss from those findings – like consumers’ strong preference for established franchises, and the broader impact of live service games – but that can wait for another time.
Without completely getting lost in the wormhole, it’s a reminder that familiarity sells. Making an original game is hard, and selling it is even harder. For every Cult of the Lamb, Unpacking, Untitled Goose Game, and Hollow Knight success story, countless others never make the big time.
The other moral of the story is that there are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and people buying Skyrim.
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