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MY FIRST AND FOREMOST REQUEST TO EVERYONE IN THIS THREAD IS TO PLEASE BE CIVIL.
We are a community that thrives on data-driven discussions; the ultimate goal of discussions on this forum should be to keep our personal biases and preferences out of our analyses. I understand that, for various reasons, the topic on hand may be a bit of a sensitive point for several posters, and while I empathize with the sentiment, I can only request and hope that everyone will put personal proclivities aside as you approach this discussion.
Now with that out of the way...
Horizon: Forbidden West debuted well enough, but as the weeks and months are passing and more data is coming in, it is starting to seem as though it has been unable to maintain legs much. The obvious answer, of course, is that sales of Forbidden West have a natural cap on them placed by the number of PS5 consoles on the market (as, in spite of the existence of a PS4 SKU, the game was marketed as a PS5 tech showcase, and much like other Sony first party games, emphasizes fidelity and graphics as a big part of its appeal). However, my question now is whether or not the proximity of its release to Elden Ring had any direct impact on the immediate sales performance of the game.
Forbidden West isn't the first time the series the series has seen a new release next to another bigger game that hogged the limelight; the original game, Zero Dawn, launched just days before Breath of the Wild did. Breath of the Wild proceeded to dominate discourse and suck out all the oxygen in the room. However, Horizon was able to hold its own regardless. There were many reasons for this - primarily, Horizon and Zelda were both on totally different systems, and even for PS4 owners who wanted to play Zelda, the proposition was to spend a few hundred dollars on a brand new console with at-the-time not much else, and suffering from several launch shortages, to play one game (or to hunt down a Wii U, but we know that this is minuscule enough to be dismissed as a factor for consideration). The difference in ecosystems let Horizon put up a decent upfront performance, that then proceeded to gain long term legs thanks to some extremely aggressive bundling and price cuts on Sony's part. Finally, the PC release ended up giving it the final push, for the game to end up at 20 million units sold all said and done. An enormously impressive performance for a brand new IP.
Forbidden West similarly launched right next to Elden Ring - however, in this case, the overlap appears to have been significantly greater, since both games are available on the same system this time (in addition to the PC and Xbox versions Elden Ring has to boot). This means that PS5 owners, new and existing ones alike, had the option of either spending $70 or equivalent on Horizon, or less money (depending on the region, the pricing for Elden Ring could be substantially lower than for Horizon) for a game that was significantly better reviewed, and completely dominating zeitgeist. Horizon had a great start - it was the top selling game on PlayStation in February's NPD charts (though overall it lost to Elden Ring), and had a reasonably good launch performance in the UK charts as well; its performance in other places, such as Japan and certain European markets, appears to have been lower than Zero Dawn's at launch, but all considered, given the context, the launch was certainly a good start for the game.
However, subsequent metrics are less favourable. Across the world, Horizon seems to have entirely fallen off the charts, even as Elden Ring continues to hold its own. Horizon is not really charting even in Sony stronghold territories such as the UK (even with digital taken into account). On Sony's own reported digital sales charts for March, Elden Ring held on to #1 (or #3 in Europe) on both PS4 and PS5, while Horizon was down to #10, implying that even within the PS user base, Elden Ring is a much more attractive and sought after game - even for current and exiting PS5 owners specifically, who are the ideal target market for a tech showcase Sony first party flagship game.
So, with that entire essay out of the way, my question is simple - was Horizon: Forbidden West hurt by its proximity to Elden Ring's release date? If so, how much?
We are a community that thrives on data-driven discussions; the ultimate goal of discussions on this forum should be to keep our personal biases and preferences out of our analyses. I understand that, for various reasons, the topic on hand may be a bit of a sensitive point for several posters, and while I empathize with the sentiment, I can only request and hope that everyone will put personal proclivities aside as you approach this discussion.
Now with that out of the way...
Horizon: Forbidden West debuted well enough, but as the weeks and months are passing and more data is coming in, it is starting to seem as though it has been unable to maintain legs much. The obvious answer, of course, is that sales of Forbidden West have a natural cap on them placed by the number of PS5 consoles on the market (as, in spite of the existence of a PS4 SKU, the game was marketed as a PS5 tech showcase, and much like other Sony first party games, emphasizes fidelity and graphics as a big part of its appeal). However, my question now is whether or not the proximity of its release to Elden Ring had any direct impact on the immediate sales performance of the game.
Forbidden West isn't the first time the series the series has seen a new release next to another bigger game that hogged the limelight; the original game, Zero Dawn, launched just days before Breath of the Wild did. Breath of the Wild proceeded to dominate discourse and suck out all the oxygen in the room. However, Horizon was able to hold its own regardless. There were many reasons for this - primarily, Horizon and Zelda were both on totally different systems, and even for PS4 owners who wanted to play Zelda, the proposition was to spend a few hundred dollars on a brand new console with at-the-time not much else, and suffering from several launch shortages, to play one game (or to hunt down a Wii U, but we know that this is minuscule enough to be dismissed as a factor for consideration). The difference in ecosystems let Horizon put up a decent upfront performance, that then proceeded to gain long term legs thanks to some extremely aggressive bundling and price cuts on Sony's part. Finally, the PC release ended up giving it the final push, for the game to end up at 20 million units sold all said and done. An enormously impressive performance for a brand new IP.
Forbidden West similarly launched right next to Elden Ring - however, in this case, the overlap appears to have been significantly greater, since both games are available on the same system this time (in addition to the PC and Xbox versions Elden Ring has to boot). This means that PS5 owners, new and existing ones alike, had the option of either spending $70 or equivalent on Horizon, or less money (depending on the region, the pricing for Elden Ring could be substantially lower than for Horizon) for a game that was significantly better reviewed, and completely dominating zeitgeist. Horizon had a great start - it was the top selling game on PlayStation in February's NPD charts (though overall it lost to Elden Ring), and had a reasonably good launch performance in the UK charts as well; its performance in other places, such as Japan and certain European markets, appears to have been lower than Zero Dawn's at launch, but all considered, given the context, the launch was certainly a good start for the game.
However, subsequent metrics are less favourable. Across the world, Horizon seems to have entirely fallen off the charts, even as Elden Ring continues to hold its own. Horizon is not really charting even in Sony stronghold territories such as the UK (even with digital taken into account). On Sony's own reported digital sales charts for March, Elden Ring held on to #1 (or #3 in Europe) on both PS4 and PS5, while Horizon was down to #10, implying that even within the PS user base, Elden Ring is a much more attractive and sought after game - even for current and exiting PS5 owners specifically, who are the ideal target market for a tech showcase Sony first party flagship game.
So, with that entire essay out of the way, my question is simple - was Horizon: Forbidden West hurt by its proximity to Elden Ring's release date? If so, how much?