Death Strandingisan open-world gamedeveloped by Kojima Productions. The game was met with positive critical reception and also performed quite well financially, with analysts estimating the game has already sold around four million copies. In an interview forLivedoor News,Kojima statedthatDeath Strandingsold enough copies to turn a profitand secure funding for the next project.
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Albeit, the commercial sales are impressive there are still games that managed to perform much better, but there are also those thatDeath Strandingleft behind in terms of sales, and below is the list of them.
Updated on June 16th, 2021 by Ritwik Mitra:While the initial reaction toDeath Strandingmight have been mixed, more and more players have realized what makes this game unique. Roaming around the countryside delivering packages might sound like a simple gameplay loop. However, the manner in whichDeath Strandinginnovates on this conceptmakes the title engrossing. With projected sales of around 4.5 million units (given the combined sales onthe PS4andSteam), there are several notable games that Death Stranding outsold. However, it left other titles in the mud.
14Sold More Than: Persona 5
Given the amazing reception toPersona 5, one would’ve expected this title to have sold like gangbusters. For what it’s worth,Persona 5definitely sold a ton of copies — just not as much asDeath Stranding.
However, the sales figures of the originalPersona 5don’t tell the full story. By combining the sales ofPersona 5 Royalas well, both games ended up selling around 4.7 million copies — a figure which gives stiff competition to Death Stranding.
13Sold Less Than: The Last Of Us Remastered
The Last of Usis easily one of the most notable and beloved exclusives of all time. With that in mind, it goes without saying that players would want to get their hands on the remastered version of this fantastic title.
The combined total of all the sales ofThe Last of Usis 17 million, with the remaster itself selling a total of 10 million copies. It leavesDeath Strandingfar behind when it came to total copies sold.
12Sold More Than: The Last Of Us Part II
Given the massive success ofThe Last of Us, one woul have assumed thatThe Last of Us Part IIwould’ve been even more of a smashing hit. However, reports of unfair workplace practices coupled with a story that couldn’t live up to the predecessor’s high bar ended up diminishing most of this game’s hype upon release.
This led toThe Last Of Us Part II’s sales dwindling at a historic rate after a record-breaking opening week, leaving the game’s sales at around 4 million units. Overall, it was a huge disappointment when compared to the first game in the series.
11Sold Less Than: Ghost Of Tsushima
Even though most people did not enjoy one of PlayStation’s biggest exclusives, Sony doesn’t really need to worry all that much. With fresh and successful IPs likeGhost of Tsushima, the future of the PlayStation brand is quite bright.
6.5 million sales for a new IP is nothing short of astounding. It’s clear to many thatGhost of Tsushimais destined for great things in the future… provided the franchise isn’t mishandled.
10Sold More Than: Far Cry New Dawn
Far Cry New Dawnis a spin-off of theFar Cryseries and a narrative sequel toFar Cry 5. The game had a smaller production team in comparison to the main entries in the series, which resulted in the game’s lower launch price.It received mixed reviews from criticsand sold worse than the two previous entries,Far Cry PrimalandFar Cry 5.
The game sold far less favorably thanDeath Stranding,and it also underperformed financially when compared to a lot of modern AAA titles. This may be a cause for concern for Ubisoft, asFar Cryhas been one of their flagship titles in recent years.
9Sold Less Than: Days Gone
Days Goneis an action-adventure game developed by little known SIE Bend Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Upon release,it didn’t impress critics, earning mediocre reviews. Keeping in mind that a game was developed by an unknown studio with average reviews, it was expected that the game wouldn’t perform well commercially—but that’s not what happened.
Days Gonemanaged to outsell PlayStation exclusive games likeGod of War,Horizon Zero Dawn,The Last Guardian, and, of course,Death Stranding. It was the bestselling PlayStation 4 exclusive game on PSN, and was among ten bestselling digital games in 2019.
8Sold More Than: MediEvil
MediEvilis a remake of the original game published in 1998. While the critics praised the original game, the remakewas met with a very mixed reception, particularly criticizing the gameplay. The game had a relatively average sales, much less than those ofDeath Stranding.
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Still,Death Strandingwas a blockbuster that spent a huge amount of money on marketing and promotion while also having famous actors and singers work on the game. All things considered it can be said that, for Sony Interactive Entertainment,MediEvilwas a relative commercial success.
7Sold Less Than: Ring Fit Adventure
Ring Fit Adventureis an exercising action RPG developed and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch. Upon release, the game sold exceptionally well, and the sales were further boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand for the gameincreased drastically, causing shortages in many countries. Some resellers sold the game for 300 dollars, up from its standard retail price of 80 dollars.
As of today, the game managed to sell four million copies. This marks it as one of the bestselling games for Nintendo Switch, while also surpassing the sales ofDeath Stranding.
6Sold More Than: Shenmue 3
The original game was an exclusive for the Dreamcast, and it was also was one of the most expensive games developed at that time. The game’s fate was irrevocably tied to that of the doomed console. It was followed byShenmue II, but, although the games did receive cult followings, they were commercial failures.
Shenmue 3was a new project started on Kickstarter, and, through crowdfunding, it managed to receive six million dollars. In comparison, the originals game had a production and marketing cost of 47 million dollars. That being said, the sales of the game weren’t high and were much less than that ofDeath Stranding.
5Sold Less Than: NBA 2K20
NBA 2K20 is, as the title says, a basketball game that follows the NBA league. The game like this has its specific target audience; players are into basketball, or they are not. In contrast,Death Strandingis more a blockbuster game intended for everyone. Considering that the audience is potentially much smaller for the NBA 2K20, it is a surprise how the game performed well commercially and outsoldDeath Stranding.
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Take-Two Interactive confirmed that the game sold eight million units. Aside from obviously performing well in North America, the game also surprisingly managed to top European digital sales.
