Chart Junkies Corner: Why 'Top-Selling' Game Lists Are Built on a House of Ambiguity
Commenters pointed out that compiling definitive lists of 'Top-selling video games ever' is methodologically flawed. Specific arguments cited mixing various Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and failing to define a primary 'main' game, as noted by ampersandrew.
Around the exhaustion of the Soulslike genre, the takes are sharp. Some users, like Coelacanth, feel genuine fatigue, suggesting a two-game-per-year limit for balance. Opposing this, others dismiss the fatigue talk, focusing only on the absolute quality output, exemplified by djsoren19 sticking solely to FromSoftware. Meanwhile, newtraditionalists accused the entire obsession with the genre as 'weird bro-ness,' implying insecurity among participants.
The core divide is between superficial market measurement and actual industry context. While most question the current sales charts, HarkMahlberg introduced a high bar, demanding sales records be adjusted for 'industry inflation'—the growth of the global player base—to truly compare decades-old blockbusters to modern hits.
Key Points
Sales charts for best-selling games are flawed by methodology.
ampersandrew noted the charts combine different SKUs and lack clarity on defining a primary game.
Soulslike fatigue is real and warrants restraint.
Coelacanth stated they feel fatigue and need to limit intake to 1-2 titles annually.
The genre fatigue argument is overblown.
djsoren19 dismisses genre concerns by focusing only on the highest quality titles available from specific developers (FromSoftware).
Obsession with the genre is performative.
newtraditionalists criticized the whole discussion as 'weird bro-ness,' linking it to community insecurity.
Historical sales comparisons need global player base adjustments.
HarkMahlberg argued sales must be adjusted for 'industry inflation' (global growth) to compare titles across decades accurately.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.