Rise of the Tomb Raider first-month PC sales almost triple Xbox One debut, report says
New report from Superdata says Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox One was hurt by launching same day as Fallout 4.
Research group Superdata today released its digital sales report for January 2016, and among other things, it was revealed that Square Enix's Rise of the Tomb Raider sold nearly three times more copies on PC in its first month than the Xbox One version over the same period of time in November.
Superdata said initial Rise of the Tomb Raider Xbox One digital sales were "soft," due in part to the fact that the game launched on the same day as Fallout 4 and was exclusive to Xbox One. The PC edition, meanwhile, arrived at the end of January and benefited from a "seasonal lull of AAA games," according to Superdata.
For its part, Microsoft has said Rise of the Tomb Raider performed strongly on Xbox One, selling "well over" 1 million copies. Square Enix has not yet divulged sales figures for the game's PC edition. Rise of the Tomb Raider will release on another platform, Sony's PlayStation 4, later this year.
Before Rise of the Tomb Raider launched in November, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg was asked directly about going head-to-head with Fallout 4. He said both games could find success in part because they are "not direct competitors per se" and appeal to somewhat different audiences.
Overall, Superdata reported that digital game sales reached $6.3 billion in January 2016, an increase of 8 percent compared to last year. All sectors posted year-over-year growth (PC rose the most, up 33 percent year-over-year) with the exception of pay-to-play MMOs. Console digital sales were also strong, surging 30 percent in January 2016 compared to January 2015.
Superdata noted this uptick in sales was at least partially the result of console gamers buying more games digitally. Along the same lines, Fallout 4 director Todd Howard recently said the game's day-one digital sales were stronger than at physical retail.
The top-grossing console game in terms of digital revenue during January was Call of Duty: Black Ops III, with FIFA 16, Grand Theft Auto V, Destiny, and Fallout 4 rounding out the top five.
You can read Superdata's full report here, while some charts are embedded below.
