We can argue about who “won” or “lost” E3 all we want, but the biggest metric of success is sales- ultimately, E3 is all about these game publishers and console manufacturers trying to sell us on their products. If their products see appropriate sales spikes following E3, we can conclude that they ended up resonating with consumers, and doing a good job.
So with that in mind, who really did do well at E3? US retailer GameStop has revealed what products saw the biggest uptick in interest, sales, and pre-orders in its stores following E3 month. The list, as you may expect, includes Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which might also have to do with the game’s battle royale mode. Funnily enough, the list also includes Red Dead Redemption 2 (it’s funny, because Red Dead wasn’t even at E3).
Nintendo saw big gains from E3- Switch sales doubled the week after E3, and interest in Pokemon and especially Smash Bros. spiked. Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee saw pre-orders increase, with special demand for the Pokeball controller, while pre-orders for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate surged as well.
“Nothing beats Nintendo’s overall announcements,” GameStopVice president of merchandising Eric Bright told GamesIndustry. “Super Smash Bros is jumping right up to the top of the [pre-order] list. We’re also seeing great reaction from Pokémon Let’s Go, both SKUs, and then of course people are trying to get their hands on the Pokéball [controller] as well.
“Nintendo fans are definitely reacting, but we’re also seeing an incredible reaction from the tried and true franchises like Call of Duty. I think when they introduced their battle royale mode that spurred a lot of consumer interest; we’re seeing pick-up from that.”
It’s just as well that Nintendo is trending strongly in the back half of the year, because their performance has been a bit middling so far this year- so they need to pick up the slack going into the next few months. Of course, it should be a good few months for everyone- games like Red Dead, FIFA, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Spider-Man, Pokemon, and Smash Bros. should all see great performances.
