Like a zombie rising from its grave, the rerelease of Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 has made a strong impact on the Australian and New Zealand game sales for the week of 14-20 August 2023.
Despite the rerelease being criticised for not sporting any major refinements to the original game, which was first released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2010, that seemingly hasn’t stopped consumers from flocking to purchase the rare ‘new’ release from Rockstar. This presumably includes a large portion of players who have never been able to play or access the game on modern systems.
GamesHub‘s Leah J. Williams recently remarked that perhaps leaving the classic, critically acclaimed game largely untouched was the right thing to do, given the troubles the company had with the rerelease of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy.
In regards to the rerelease, Williams said that, ‘more than a decade on, every shocking beat of this adventure still lands. It’s more than worthy of a grand redemption, and a new audience in modern times.’
Read: Red Dead Redemption has earned its homecoming
Rockstar is certainly no stranger to the Top 10 charts in Australia and New Zealand, of course, with Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 continuing to stake their claims. The two titles have charted in the Top 10 virtually every week since they were released in 2013 and 2018, respectively.
Elsewhere, the latest edition of Madden NFL took the number two spots in both regions, followed by FIFA 23 – which falls from the top spot last week, when interest was re-energised by the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The New Zealand charts provide a nice curiosity as always, with Bethesda’s excellent Dishonored, released in 2012, sneaking into the Top 10.
The following ANZ Game Charts data comes courtesy of IGEA and GSD.
Australian Game Sales Charts – 14-20 August 2023
| 1 | RED DEAD REDEMPTION | Take 2 |
| 2 | MADDEN NFL 24 | Electronic Arts |
| 3 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | GRAND THEFT AUTO V | Take 2 |
| 5 | THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM | Nintendo |
| 6 | MARIO KART 8 DELUXE | Nintendo |
| 7 | HOGWARTS LEGACY | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 8 | RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 | Take 2 |
| 9 | FALLOUT 4 | Bethesda Softworks |
| 10 | DIABLO IV | Activision Blizzard |
New Zealand Game Sales Charts – 14-20 August 2023
| 1 | RED DEAD REDEMPTION | Take 2 |
| 2 | MADDEN NFL 24 | Electronic Arts |
| 3 | FIFA 23 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | GRAND THEFT AUTO V | Take 2 |
| 5 | RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 | Take 2 |
| 6 | HOGWARTS LEGACY | Warner Bros. Interactive |
| 7 | GRAND THEFT AUTO ONLINE | Take 2 |
| 8 | EA SPORTS UFC 4 | Electronic Arts |
| 9 | ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA | Ubisoft |
| 10 | DISHONORED | Bethesda Softworks |
