Given how long Bayonetta 3 has been in development and how long fans have known about the title, there is a lot of pressure on the game to succeed. Not to mention live up to the hype that’s been built up for it. The good news is that the game had many positive reviews when it launched on the 28th, which will help bring people to the table. Plus, many streamers have been posting their game playthroughs, which might entice fans to try it for themselves. But the thing that everyone will be eyeing is the sales numbers, and we do have a minor update on that front.
According to an insider, the game sales in the UK are doing “very marginally” better than when Bayonetta 2 arrived on the Switch a few years back. Before anyone has a panic attack, there are a few notes to make here. First, this is only counting the physical copies of the game. The digital sales won’t be out until later this week. Second, the comparison is solely to the Switch version of the game and not the Wii U. The latter didn’t sell the best, that’s true, but it still hinders the sales comparison because some people didn’t get the Switch versions.
Third, despite it only selling “very marginally better,” it should be noted that Bayonetta 2 on Switch did sell a million units eventually. Moreover, as that same insider noted, the physical sales of Platinum Games titles aren’t exactly what you’d expect in the UK. Another person on Twitter quoted an insider’s tweet from 2019, noting that Nier: Automata and Astral Chain had fewer physical sales than Bayonetta 2 then. However, the former went on to sell many millions and just got ported to the Nintendo Switch. The latter also crossed a million and exceeded expectations.
So as in all things, context is key. Plus, even if it doesn’t sell well in the UK, it could sell well in Japan and the US. We’ll have to wait for dedicated sales numbers to find out. But when you compare it to the past two titles, it would be a success if it were to make over a million in a decent amount of time.
Bayonetta 3 has long been desired by fans because PlatinumGames put everything they had into the past games. The character of Bayonetta is one of the most unique in all of gaming, and the action-packed gameplay made fans fall in love with the series even more. The third entry has a bunch of new features for players to enjoy and a new character to play via Viola.
So if you haven’t tried the title out yet, it’s available now on Nintendo Switch. Don’t disappoint the witch, ok?
Source: Twitter
