Half of All Recent PS5 Sales Bundled with Horizon Forbidden West in UK

I wish we knew whether PS5 was actually popular or people are just being forced to buy one with their purchase of Horizon Forbidden West.

" The official bundle from Sony has proven incredibly popular in the region"

It is popular because people don't have a choice. Either get the bundle or get nothing.

This is Sony pumping a bit of extra money out of the customer.

I'm actually surprised it's only half.

"the success of the PS5 in the UK can be directly attributed to the Horizon Forbidden West bundle at the moment."

Let this be a lesson to never, ever, ever, ever trust conclusions that are drawn from "data."

In other news, the success of Star Wars can clearly be attributed to the number of people subscribing to Disney+.

Hard to guage whether people actually want Forbidden West or are being forced to get it with the bundle

That's because it's been bloody impossible to get a PS5 without Horizon! Been looking for a while for a 2nd PS5, digital only, on its own (I already own Horizon), and they're virtually non existent.

Well… Retailers around here literally only sells HFW bundles, and have been for quite some time now. So it’s not like you have a choice (given that you want the console, of course).

I have yet to play it but getting a ps5 bundled with HFW and astros playroom for 500 quid seems pretty decent!

I remember being forced to buy a Super Nintendo that came with Super Mario World. I’ll bet that game would have been a total flop if it wasn’t bundled with the system…

Bundles are a good way to fight scalpers. People will complain no matter what i guess.

This is not a bashing of the PlayStation brand, but I wish Sony would take a look on what Nintendo is doing they is killing it, the thing Sony is missing is fun games it just seem like they is lock in making cinematic beautiful graphics and big set pieces type of games that’s fine and all but you have to give your audience different experiences where is Resistance, can you imagine how a next gen MotorStorm would look like it will be insane, and where is Jak and Daxter? Cmon Sony we want these types of games.

@AdamNovice Agreed. There will be a narrative now about PS5's demand factor is only contributed to bundle. Also HZ:FW will be included in that.

Dear God, people. Enough with the downplaying. 50% of ps5s sold are just the base unit, so no it's not like the bundle is the only option. Jeez.

@Amnesiac And I‘ll bet against it. Super Mario World was and still is a fantastic game!

@PlayStation_Dawg1994 Sony tried that multiple times and failed over and over again. Sackboy should have been successful. Tearaway should have been a hit. Concrete Genie should have done well. Knack 2 was great, yet failed to sell decently. The list goes on and on.

@PlayStation_Dawg1994 PlayStation fans want mature games like god of war and the last of us we don’t really like kids games that’s why Sony attempt at kids games failed badly.

@Max_the_German Yes, it’s my favorite Mario game by a good distance. That was just a bit of sarcasm in light of the gripes about another excellent game being included as a pack in. I forgot that people can’t hear my snarky voice in the comments.

I'd love to know where the non HFW bundle that people seem to be getting is?

Is it the non official bundle of a PS5, a headset, an extra controller and a game included (Horizon Forbidden West) that Argos are selling? 😵

Or the countless non official bundles that GAME roll out every month with the standard PS5 in a standard box with extra controllers, some extra rubbish like a t shirt and controller case, plus Horizon Forbidden West Included? 😵😵😵

I, like many, would like a second PS5 (Disc this time) but I don't want to spend £500-700 for this nonsense, plus a game I won't play for maybe 2 years any way.

@4kgk2
Excuse me.
I played PlayStation games too but only playing kids games with very few Teen games.
I like to play kids games on any video game machines.

@PlayStation_Dawg1994
Don't worry.
You can always get those games from 3rd party multi console games on PS4 /PS5.

Also, I prefer playing Yonder the Cloud Catcher Chronicles and Horse Club Adventures on PS4 for having zero violence Open World games that definitely suitable for kids.

You can bet your ass god of war won't be thrown into these bundles. Forbidden west was a poor game imo with a god awful cringe fest of a story. Sony knows it's not most people's taste so they have to bundle it to increase numbers

I bet most ppl would have ended up buying Forbidden West anyway it really showcased the systems power. I can't see how you would get a ps5 and not get HFW.

Selling the ps5, bundled with hfw, seems like hfw may be struggling a bit. My history with bundles usually looks like "a product you want, bundled with a product you don't". I'll find out soon enough, my copy of hfw should be here soon.

I can't imagine buying a PS5 and not wanting Horizon Forbidden West.

@Sqush-Pare I can only speak for myself, but "shooters" aren't my thing, so I don't see myself ever getting it. I need to try the first one first, since I got it for free.

@naruball I've never seen anyone call Horizon a shooter before, yeah you get arrows and throwables but that's like calling Skyrim a shooter (for me at least)

@Decoy_Snake there is a first time for everything

@naruball The closest thing I can think of shooting wise would be Gears of War if your looking for a comparison. When Aloy has the big gun type weapons she removes from the bigger machines, it kind of feels like a gears game as she weighted down with those heavy weapons!

@Decoy_Snake not even close, but that's ok.

I just wonder why they keep saying Xbox series x/y/z instead of Xbox series. 😅
Anyway, keep going with the silly drama people. The article is telling retailers make their own bundles but everyone only sees what they want to see haha
Dam you Sony and lucifer Jack Ryan forcing you to buy what you secretly desire 👹

@PhhhCough @Blaze215 Your analogies are ridiculous. Aloy is like PlayStation's Mario right now, she appeals to all ages than say Ratchet and Clank. Horizon has a touch of cartoon and a mature look to it. Plus HFW is the only recent title showcasing magnificent graphics, can't think of a better title to bundle a PS5 with, it ticks all boxes.

I found hfw to be boring after really liking the 1st one

@Ravix I could choose several bundles and got stuck with GT7 which i sold straight away.

Why is nobody happy that the PS5 outsold series X/S in July, regardless of bundles? More PS5 console sales than Xbox should be a good thing?

@PSme Hasn't this happened over and over again? Ps5 is comfortably beating xbsx. Its real competitor is the switch.

@naruball True, maybe(data can be messed with in different ways) but PS5 may never beat switch hardware sales figures purely based on cost of console (I know, I have both). And switch treads it’s own path compared with PS5, software wise. I happy with both systems tbh

"Why is nobody happy that the PS5 outsold series X/S in July, regardless of bundles? More PS5 console sales than Xbox should be a good thing?"

@PSme Two reasons:
1. Console sales right now have nothing to do with demand, both consoles are selling every unit they can make.
2. Is one console selling more than another really something to celebrate?

@evan23 point number 2: xbox fans seems to love broadcasting series x/s sales numbers against PS5 numbers, so maybe go ask them that question?

It's an awesome game. One of the best of 2022 along with Elden Ring. Simple as that. Feels like games these days are getting the fan loyalty fanatism found in the EPL.

Imo, there is no better game to bundle with the PS5 than HFW. For several reasons.

1. It showcases the console’s power and next generation improvements. It’s a beautiful game that runs like butter. It loads almost instantly, showing off what the SSD can do for life quality in the case of gamers.

2. It has multi demographic appeal. The game caters to both hardcore gamers who want a challenge with the Hard and Very Hard difficulties and people who prefer a more tame experience with Normal and Easy difficulties. Being a third person action adventure title helps here; it’s a very popular genre.

3. It’s a fairly long game. Someone on a budget who can only afford the PS5 itself gets a game that will entertain them for over a month while they save for more purchases.

It’s not my favorite PS5 title, as that title goes to Returnal. But I wouldn’t like to see Returnal bundled with the console; it’s a niche game. Takes a certain mindset to play it. Whereas Horizon covers all types of gamers with its gameplay and difficulty settings. It’s basically Sony’s version of bundling in Super Mario World with the SNES. It ticks the same boxes.

@NEStalgia
It’s just a misquote from what was already a harmless spin (and therefore somewhat false statement) on the ‘attributed’ meaning in source.
Nobody would take it literally.

‘the success of the PS5 in the UK can be directly attributed to the Horizon Forbidden West bundle at the moment. ‘
VS
‘The rise in fortunes for PS5, apart from the variable that is available stock in any given week, can be attributed to the success of the Horizon Forbidden West Official Bundles ‘

(Loose reporting can often be an issue but not really an issue here)

@4kgk2 Since when are Resistance and Motorstorm "kids games"? If we're going to call Resistance a kids game, then certainly Spiderman, inFamous, and Wolverine are also kids games. And if Motorstom is so is MLB, which means Sony's top sellers are all kids games....lol

@naruball Most of that comes down to terrible marketing. They make it pretty clear they put almost zero focus or effort into that. Of the games you listed, only Sackboy got serious marketing attention, everything else was released as a "by the way" shadow drop that barely went noticed outside the "core" market like us. LBP/Sackboy got mainstream treatment and a at least sells enough to keep the series going long term. Things like Tearaway, Concrete Genie, most of the Japan Studio stuff etc get treated like unimportant indies as all the focus is on the big cinematic games. I don't think there's any reason for Sony to fail at that sort of "family" game category, they're good at it, and the market is robust for it, they just suck at marketing it, or just don't really care to. Plenty of non-Sony made "family" games sell just fine on PS. It's definitely a marketing failure more than a lack of potential market or products that would be suitable for that market. ( Edit: R&C gets mainstream marketing and appears successful enough though.)

@JJ2 But the statement is fairly directly saying that HFW is what is driving PS5 sales, rather than the inverse, that PS5 demand is driving bundle purchases to obtain consoles. Again going back to PS4 it's like saying Knack 1 demand in Japan drove PS4 sales because Knack bundles sold really well.

To be clear, I don't think that most people are saying that HFW is a bad game. I just think the statement that it is responsible for driving sales or that people prefer that bundle is silly. People are being forced to buy the game whether they want it or not in a bundle because that is how Sony is choosing to sell the PS5 right now. The PS5 sales have nothing to do with HFW, they are selling every unit they can make.

None of that makes a HFW a bad game.

@NEStalgia
Exactly it doesn’t make sense. Only console warriors may spin that literally but then who cares about them? Haha
So it’s not an issue

(Nobody using their brain would take it literally)

When the stock is limited by supply, bundles are as good as an official price hike. Little to do with popularity.

I’m sure if they only shipped the bundle, they would sell 100% of them too.

@naruball A shooter is most definitely not how I'd describe HFW lol

@Sqush-Pare fair enough. I would. For me, it plays the same and it's no coincidence that it was made by the same studio that made the Killzone games. Bow or gun, the end result is the same.

@NEStalgia I have to disagree. The excuse of "bad marketing" is used all the time, but I'd argue that companies focus on the games that have the most potential to sell well. When you present several games at an even but only x and z get a lot of views/reactions, etc, you know those are likely to perform the best. Companies simply follow the money.

Dreams has received a ton of promo and attention, but it's performance has been pretty bad. Playstation posts another video trying to promote it every other week, yet the views and likes on the facebook page are very few.

@naruball I think there's a bit of audience bias to that reaction factor though. Again, we don't have to look at at Nintendo to see family games succeed, we see plenty of success in that category on PS, so it's not like the PS market lacks demand for those games. And it's not like Sony's own entries aren't very good. They're great. But it's rare we ever see Sony make a strong appeal to that part of their market. The games are good but the release is half hearted. Tearaway was a Vita game. Even as a Vita fan and tearaway fan I barely noticed the existence of the obligatory "get it out the door" PS4 port. But that did happen, like with the Japan Studio games, at a time when they clearly made the pivot to the fusion of their film and games market and shifted promotion to follow suit. A lot of good games got lost in that translation. Of course with spiderman they kind of have an ultimate kids game even if it's on a Disney license. But their own ips have such charm is a shame to see them squandered. Kena was the most "Sony" game I've seen in years, and it's not Sony.

I'm sure they do figure what will perform the best and promote there, sure, but that doesn't mean the target market for the family fare can't be reached, just that they're choosing not to reach out. Nintendo games sell like crazy even when the game is, frankly, terrible. Why? Marketing and marketing induced brand recognition. Sony has the content and the audience but they just don't commit to the marketing effort to penetrate that market. Shame. Nintendo could use the competition. They're getting back on track but so many switch games have felt phoned in.

Dreams..... Dreams is a different thing. It has a very specific niche appeal. It made the gamble to take on Minecraft in the creative space but it's a more obtuse, more..... Business like approach to a less approachable end result especially for kids. I don't think any conclusions for family titles can be made from watching dreams performance. It's very much a unique scenario with a game that I think should have been obvious how it was going to go before it launched. I love that they took the risk. That was a different era for them that came from. But it was never really going to be a real success unless it somehow became a meme.

@ROBLIVION I lost interest as well.