PlayStation's Spider-Man 2 breaks records as the fastest-selling game

Sony has announced that Spider-Man 2, the latest release in the Spider-Man video game series made by PlayStation, has become the fastest-selling game. Within the first 24 hours of its release, the game sold over 2.5 million copies, both physical and digital. Developed by Insomniac Games, a subsidiary of PlayStation, the game has received positive reviews since its launch on the PS5 last Friday. However, there has been some criticism regarding the game's length, with the main story taking approximately 15 hours to complete. Including side-content, the total gameplay can extend to around 40 hours, which is a typical length for video games. It should be noted that certain releases this year, such as Baldur's Gate 3, offer potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay. Spider-Man 2 has been lauded for its portrayal of Puerto Rican culture. Yet, it faced backlash when the game mistakenly displayed the Cuban flag instead of the Puerto Rican flag in the main character's house. The developers have acknowledged the error and expressed their commitment to rectifying it. Despite being titled Spider-Man 2, this installment is actually the third game in the series, following previous releases in 2018 and 2020. Similar to its predecessors, the game is set in a virtual New York City. However, a significant difference is that players can now assume the roles of either Peter Parker or Miles Morales, both popular alter-egos of the superhero. Eric Lempel, PlayStation's head of business operations, expressed gratitude to fans and highlighted Insomniac Games' dedication to delivering innovative and engaging gaming experiences. Spider-Man 2 was one of several highly anticipated games released last week, including new titles from iconic gaming characters Mario and Sonic. This marked the first time in over 30 years that these rival franchises concurrently released games. Spider-Man 2 outperformed both Mario and Sonic in terms of physical sales, making it the biggest physical video game launch in the UK last week. Although it achieved significant success in physical sales, Spider-Man 2 has not yet reached the extraordinary sales milestone set by Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Released in May, that game sold over 10 million copies within just three days and remains the top physical video game launch in the UK in 2023. Christopher Dring, the head of gaming news site GamesIndustry.biz, explained that while boxed game sales still exist, the majority of games are now digitally downloaded. Prior to the pandemic, around half of games in the UK were sold digitally and the other half in physical stores. However, since 2020, digital sales have encompassed over 70% of the market. Nevertheless, millions of boxed games are still sold each year, and certain items like consoles and controllers cannot be downloaded digitally. Nevertheless, physical sales constitute a considerably smaller portion of the market compared to digital sales.