Spider-Man 2 – customers seem to prefer black suit Spidey over Elephant Mario (Picture: Sony)

Early UK sales data shows Spider-Man and Mario dominating the physical charts, with digital sales expected to be even better.

This past Friday on October 20, the two biggest games of the month – Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder – launched opposite one another, with both Sony and Nintendo apparently unafraid of the competition.

While many gamers no doubt had to choose one or the other, both games are so far runaway successes, which isn’t too surprising given the popularity of their respective stars.

So far, however, it appears Spider-Man 2 has come out on top, as early sales data reveals it is number one in the UK physical charts whereas Super Mario Bros. Wonder comes in at second place.

This is according to GamesIndustry.biz’s Christopher Dring, who adds Spider-Man 2 and Super Mario Bros. Wonder are the fourth and fifth biggest boxed launches of the year in the UK.

As a reminder, they sit below Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom , EA Sports FC 24 , and Hogwarts Legacy , which are all heavy hitters too.

That said, Spider-Man 2’s physical sales are 20% lower than God Of War Ragnarök ’s from last year. They’re also worse than the 2018 Spider-Man game for PlayStation 4, although that’s less surprising given boxed sales always decrease over time.




Just had to delete the follow-up tweet. Physical launch sales of Spider-Man 2 is significantly down on Spider-Man 1. But digital acceleration since 2018 means it isn’t possible to draw any conclusions until the download data is in — Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) October 22, 2023




This doesn’t necessarily mean Spider-Man 2 has sold less than its predecessor overall and in fact there’s a good chance it’s sold more, but this is only physical sales so how well it’s done on digital is currently a completely unknown.

Digital purchases have grown increasingly more popular over the years. Earlier this month, it was discovered EA Sports FC 24’s UK physical sales were down compared to FIFA 23 yet EA says it’s had a bigger launch than any previous FIFA game .

More: Trending I have no sympathy for people that can't afford games if they're buying digitally Now Spider-Man 2 is out the PS5 has no new exclusives scheduled and that's crazy Nintendo Switch is the best console ever and it’s not even close - Reader’s Feature

As for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Dring notes it’s had the third biggest launch for a Mario platformer in the UK, losing out only to Super Mario Odyssey and the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection.

Again, this is only taking into account physical sales. Combined with digital, Dring speculates Wonder could be ‘the biggest Mario platform game launch in the UK ever.’




Super Mario Bros Wonder is at No.2 in the UK physical charts. It’s the fifth biggest boxed launch of 2023. Sales are about 62% lower than Zelda’s launch. But 2D Mario games tend to be longer term sellers. Launch is significantly bigger than what New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe did — Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) October 22, 2023




Dring adds that Wonder’s sales are 62% less than Tears Of The Kingdom, but believes they’ll pick up in the long run, describing 2D Mario platformers as ‘longer term sellers.’

When asked which games are currently sitting in the top five of the UK physical sales charts below Spidey and Mario, Dring reveals that they’re followed by EA Sports FC, Sonic Superstars , and Assassin’s Creed Mirage .




In the UK, Super Mario Bros Wonder is the third biggest launch for a Mario platformer in chart history. It is only very narrowly behind Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario 3D All-Stars. I imagine with digital, it may well be the biggest Mario platform game launch in the UK ever — Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) October 22, 2023







Nice guess. Mirage was No.5 — Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) October 22, 2023




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