Ghost of Tsushima And Nintendo Switch Dominate July’s Sales Charts

Sucker Punch Productions’ Ghost of Tsushimaand Nintendo Switch dominated July’s sales charts. Ghost of Tsushima’s digital deluxe upgrade recently became available on the PlayStation Store, allowing standard edition owners to acquire the bonuses digital deluxe edition owners already received. Those bonuses include in-game items as well as developers’ commentary and a PS4 Ghost of Tsushima theme. Players can put these bonuses to use beating the game and conquering any unfinished content after completing the story.

The Nintendo Switch has increased its presence in the market recently with the release of the Switch Lite in September 2019. Since then, Nintendo has applied for new The Legend of Zelda trademarks and sparked buzz surrounding plans for the franchise’s 35^th anniversary. Nintendo has also brought many Wii U exclusives to the portable gaming platform, with fans craving ports for some last remaining additions.

Reflecting on the popularity of both Ghost of Tsushima and the Nintendo Switch, the NDP Group (via VG24/7) reports that Ghost of Tsushima was July’s best-selling game while the Nintendo Switch was the month’s best-selling console. Ghost of Tsushima’s dominance in software sales for July reflects the overall 41% increase in digital content spending for July 2020. Overall hardware sales have decreased in recent years, but the Nintendo Switch has maintained its position as the number one selling console for both July and all of 2020 so far.

Ghost of Tsushima’s popularity likely stems from its gripping – albeit straightforward and predictable – storytelling, as well as its relatively accurate capturing of samurai martial arts and culture. Players get to experience some idea of how Bushido – both a way-of-life and martial art focused on wielding a katana – works in a game that does a decent job of capturing the core of both samurai culture (at least as it’s portrayed in entertainment media) and their martial prowess. Given this relative authenticity, thrilling gameplay, and emotional storytelling, it’s not difficult to see why Ghost of Tsushima conquered July’s sales charts.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch did what systems such as the Sony PSP and PS Vita could not – brought portability to gaming utilizing modern graphics, game mechanics, and reliability. Nintendo has been the driving force behind portable gaming since 1987 when it launched the GameBoy. While other companies – both before and after Nintendo – have dipped their toes in the waters of portable gaming, they haven’t come close to capturing and maintaining the vast audience Nintendo has, and the Nintendo Switch reflects that accomplishment.

Ghost of Tsushima is available on PlayStation 4.

Source: NDP Group (via VG24/7)

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