The Last of Us Part II breaks Uncharted 4 sales record

By Jon Silman June 23, 2020

The numbers are out and not only is The Last of Us Part II is one of the most significant video game releases of the past few years, but it’s also the best selling PS4 launch title of all time in the U.K.

Physical copies of the game in the U.K. have outsold every title ever for the Playstation 4 console, and it broke the previous record for launch copies sold by another Naughty Dog game — Uncharted 4, which was released in 2016. According to sales charts reported by GI.biz, The Last of Us Part II beat the previous record by 1%.

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Those numbers do not take digital downloads into account, so the total figure could be different. It also makes The Last of Us Part II the best selling game of the year in the U.K., beating out Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch by 40%.

The sales are indicative of the popularity of the franchise as a whole, and the first game in the series is widely considered a modern masterpiece. Its popularity doesn’t just exist in the video game world, either. There’s a Last of Us podcast and an HBO series in development from Johan Renck, who directed Chernobyl.

The new game is also much darker than the first, but fans are still eager to continue the story of protagonist Ellie, and Joel, her grizzled father figure in the story.

Digital Trends gave the game a 5-star review and named it an Editors’ Choice title.

“The Last of Us was lauded for its emotional narrative that left players reeling, and Naughty Dog’s sequel finds a way to expand on that. The Last of Us Part II is a gut punch in the best way,” the review notes.

The game has not been without controversy, and several spoilers were leaked before its release, involving various plot points and the ending. The Last of Us Part II has also faced review-bombing on the aggregation site Metacritic.

Many users spammed the site with negative reviews hours after its release, which dragged down its user score. The game has a 95 rating and is considered a “must play” on the reviewer side, but the negative reviews outweigh the positive ones by almost 10,000 on the user side.

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Popular city-builder Cities: Skylines is getting a sequel this year

A screenshot from Cities: Skylines 2's cinematic reveal trailer.

Developer Paradox Interactive hosted an Announcement Show today that featured the reveal of Cities: Skylines II, a sequel to Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive's popular city builder.
Cities: Skylines II - Announcement Trailer
Cities: Skylines is already a very fleshed-out city-building experience thanks to eight years of updates and expansions. Now, Colossal Order is trying to up the ante by calling Cities: Skylines II a "next-generation city builder" and "the most realistic city simulation ever created" in the press release revealing the game. While specific details on this enhanced simulation are light, the developers are promising that there will be more construction and customization options, as well as deeper transport and economy systems, in the sequel. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too much longer to get those questions answered.
Although its reveal trailer is purely cinematic, it also confirms that Cities: Skylines II will launch in 2023.
While Cities: Skylines II was the most exciting announcement to come from Paradox's livestream, it wasn't the only one. Alongside expansions for games like Crusader Kings III, Across the Obelisk, Stellaris, and Europa Universalis IV, Paradox also revealed The Lamplighters League, an occult turn-based strategy game with a 1930s pulp aesthetic, sci-fi auto-battler Mechabellum, RPG Knights of Pen & Paper 3, and The Sims competitor Life by You. In fact, Life By You is getting a dedicated livestream of its own on March 20. Cities: Skylines II will be released later this year for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. The Xbox channel's version of the trailer also confirms it will be a day one Xbox Game Pass title.

Gaming

HBO’s The Last of Us show spotlights the series’ best game: Left Behind

Ellie and Riley ride a merry-go-round in The Last of Us.

While the bulk of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation retells the story of the first game, The Last of Us episode 7 is a special exception. That’s because it dives into DLC territory to bring The Last of Us: Left Behind to the small screen and give Bella Ramsey’s Ellie an hour to shine.

Left Behind is a 2014 expansion for The Last of Us that would later be purchasable as a standalone release. It's set in the middle of The Last of Us, as Ellie hunts for medical supplies for Joel in an abandoned Colorado mall. That setup acts as a frame tale, as the bulk of the game is a playable flashback. In it, we get to see a slice of Ellie’s life before she met Joel, as she explores another mall with her friend and budding love interest, Riley. It was a significant chapter of the series, as it confirmed Ellie’s sexual identity, but its also an important moment for games in general. Lesbian relationships weren’t generally depicted in AAA video games in 2014, and the idea of a tender kiss between two women was especially unheard of.

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Pikmin and Bulborb in Pikmin 4.

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"We approach our involvement in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans," a Nintendo spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge. "Since this year’s E3 show didn’t fit into our plans, we have made the decision to not participate. However, we have been and continue to be a strong supporter of the ESA [Entertainment Software Association] and E3."
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E3 2023 will take place between June 13 and June 16, but don't expect Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft to have a big presence there.