Days Gone Had a Bigger Launch Than God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn in Japan

It looks like Days Gone is the next long-running franchise from Sony. It’s already had some strong sales numbers, but it had a horde-sized debut in Japan. Bend Studio’s newest title moved 114,319 units at launch, making it the third-highest debut of a Western-developed Sony title, behind only Marvel’s Spider-Man and Uncharted 4. That also means it beat heavyweights like God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn in that country. The numbers come from Famitsu’s sales charts.

For comparison’s sake Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End opened at around 124 thousand units, with Marvel’s Spider-Man’s launch being in the 132 thousand range. Horizon Zero Dawn wasn’t far off with 109 thousand copies sold, while God of War and Detroit: Become Human moved around 50 thousand and 30 thousand copies, respectively.

Days Gone’s first week sales numbers also make it the biggest launch of a Sony IP on the PS4 in Japan. (Despite being the first game in a new series, Marvel’s Spider-Man doesn’t count as a new IP. Sorry.) It’s made even more impressive knowing that Days Gone has not received the critical acclaim some of its fellow PlayStation exclusives have.

However, despite mixed reviews across the board, plenty have loved their time with Days Gone. Our own review in particular was highly positive, praising Days Gone’s “journey of survival, humanity, and self-discovery.” And it seems to have struck a cord with the PlayStation user base, as its sales across the globe have been exceptionally strong. In fact, it holds the title of biggest physical launch in the UK of 2019 so far. We’ve yet to hear official words on its North America sales, but there’s no reason to believe it won’t be as strong.

With Days Gone coming in with a bang, there’s still plenty to look forward to. Starting this Summer, it will receive plenty of free updates, including weekly challenges and a tough-as-nails new difficulty mode.

[Source: ResetEra]