It’s The State of Gaming Podcast, Popzara’s in-depth look at what’s shaking up the gaming landscape delivered on a monthly basis. Our hosts Cory Galliher and Nate Evans guide you through the best, worst, and everything else making headlines and headway in the world of interactive entertainment.
The Games of May 2022
May is yet another slow month for big releases, led by Saber Interactive’s Evil Dead: The Game, starring none other than Big Chin himself, Bruce Campbell! Ska Studios’ mixes Dark Souls and Monster Hunter with their super sequel Salt and Sacrifice, Devolver Digital hopes your love for Ghosts of Tsushima will net them equal success with Trek to Yomi, Namco Bandai wants you to catch Pac-Man fever again (and again) with their Pac-Man Museum + collection. Elsewhere, Nacon’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong keeps the ghoulish franchise going strong, while ININ Games’ brings the world’s most adorable witch to North America with the cute ‘em up Cotton Fantasy.
NPD: April 2022:
NPD remains the gaming industry’s best snapshot of what’s moving and shaking up both physical and digital retail shelves across the country. All stats are for entertainment purposes only. Total sales of new gaming hardware and software topped $4.3 billion, an 8 percent drop from last year.
On the Top Twenty software charts Warner Bros’ LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga debuted strong in first, fitting as May is officially Star Wars Month. Bandai Namco’s Elden Ring came in second, though total sales have made it the best-selling game not just for the year, but for the past 12 months (surpassing even COD: Vanguard, an amazing feat). Nintendo’s eponymous Nintendo Switch Sports debuted high in fifth, Sony’s Gran Turismo 7 remained strong in ninth, and Take Two’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands rounded out the list in twentieth.
Everything Else
There’s more! Did you know that sales of Nintendo’s Switch have now exceeded that of Sony’s PlayStation 4 (in the US)? Or that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V (or just GTA5 to friends) have sailed past an astounding 165 million copies sold? How about Red Dead Redemption 2 (“the world’s saddest cowboy simulator”) doubled sales of its predecessor with 44 million copies sold? Did you hear that Square Enix sells many of its most valuable (non-Japanese) studios and holdings to the Embrace Group for a song? While E3 2022 may officially be “dead”, the show goes on…in some form or another.
