Dead Nation released at the start of the 2010 holiday season and was met with rave reviews that exceeded expectations. Coming straight from the team that brought us the PlayStation Network summer hit, Super Stardust HD, it should come as no surprise that their next PSN-exclusive would meet, or even exceed, the success of their previous downloadable title.
Housemarque’s Dead Nation was the most downloaded and played PSN title in November and December 2010 and the the first 2 weeks of January 2011. While this achievement may come as no surprise, especially since the game released just days before the Christmas month, statistical analysis of the data may come as a shock. Out of all the games released during the final two months of the 2010 holiday season with online functionality, Dead Nation came out on top in terms of player count, boasting an all-time high of 103, 535 players—more than double the numbers of any other game that was closest to this stat.
Competing online PSN games included Pac-Man CE DX and Crazy Taxi which sported around 48,000 and 38,000 according to charts provided by Gamasutra. With leaderboards showing number rivaling full-blown retail releases, it is hard to argue against the growth of digital distribution.
