"Forza Motorsport 7" has only been around for a few days, after being released on October 3, but it's off to a bumpy start. On the UK charts supplied by GFK-Ukie, Microsoft's Xbox One exclusive has debuted in the second position, lagging behind EA's "FIFA 18."
The fact that it failed to outsell the massive sports game is not a surprise, as few titles are able to match it, but the seventh entry in the racing franchise saw a decline in sales compared to the previous installment. "Forza Motorsport 6" sold 22% more during its first week, while "Forza Horizon 3" moved about 60% more units.
It is not a great sign for the franchise, although the third entry in the "Horizon" spin-off series managed to place in the third spot for the sales week ending October 7.
Reviews
The Xbox One version of "Forza Motorsport 7" has largely been well received by critics, averaging an 87% on Metacritic.com. While this is keeping in line with the standard response for the series, fans have been less forgiving, as the average rating is only 6.2. "Forza Horizon 3" outperformed the seventh entry in the main series, with a 91% critic rating and an 8.0 user score.
The PC version is being decimated by users, averaging only a 3.5 on Metacritic. Critics are a bit more gentle, with an 83%, but the user reviews indicate that quite a few people have suffered crashes.
Some of the lower scores need to be taken with a pinch of salt, as they criticize Microsft for not releasing their games on Steam and the microtransactions. Issues worth criticizing, but hardly warrant a 0/10.
At the end of the day, this is another polished entry into the series. Due to how often Microsoft is releasing a new "Forza" title, with them practically becoming a yearly release, there is not enough time to really change the status quo.
Even if the quality remains consistent throughout, eventually it starts to feel like you are paying $60 for practically the same game.
The rest
The remaining top sellers of the week include mostly the usual titles. "Grand Theft Auto V" and "Destiny 2" round off the top 5, with the former continuing to sell well week in, week out.
Rockstar has done a great job of adding new content to the multiplayer component, to ensure fans continue to come back for more.
"Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy" lands in the sixth spot, showing that the mascot remains as popular as ever. "NBA 2K18" is lounging down at the 9th spot, possibly due to the negative word of mouth associated with the game.
