The Last of Us TV show has boosted its game sales

The Last of Us Part 1 and the remastered edition sales have both seen boosts after the launch of the HBO TV adaptation.

Remember when Naughty Dog announced that The Last of Us would be getting the remake treatment? Some fans rejoiced, knowing they were in for another run of the hit game with new improved visuals.

However, others seemed confused by the concept. The game originally came out in 2013 for ps3, the following year a Remastered version was released on the PS4. While this version has been around for years, the consensus was that it still looks and plays well, therefore would a remake really be worth it?

Show sales to boost game sales

The answer is yes. From a marketing standpoint at least anyway. After only two episodes the HBO show The Last of Us has received high praise and critical success. The series premiere saw a massive 4.7 million viewers, making it HBO’s second-biggest premiere show.

In addition, the show currently sits at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 95% average audience score. The good news doesn’t stop there, IMDB has the show at a 9.4 rating. The latest episode which aired last night is now sitting at a 9.5 rating meaning that the first episode wasn’t just a lucky debut.

So what about the wider impact? Well naturally, game sales are up. The PS4 remastered version of the game has seen a huge 322% rise in sales last week in the UK. The latest edition of the game, which is the Remake on PS5 also saw increased sales, going up by 238%. While the initial buzz from the show has spiked sales now, this trend could continue throughout the show’s episodes.

Relive The Last of Us

It really comes as no surprise that the release of the show has ignited the flames and fans are excited to experience the game all over again. Since the remake version is still relatively new, the price tag sits at around £69.99 and the older remastered version can be picked up for £15.99. Currently on Amazon in the UK, Part 1 of the game is sold out.

So with sales up as much as they are, it goes to show why that remake version was a brilliant piece of marketing. Not only are fans now wanting to pick the game up again and play due to the show, but newcomers to the franchise are now looking to experience the video game. Keeping in mind these figures are sales in the UK it’s likely other countries may be seeing a similar spike.

That’s not all. The Last of Us is a PlayStation exclusive, well not for much longer. The Last of Us Part 1 is being ported onto PC soon. The launch of the game for PC is set for March 3, 2023. This means that the PC version of the game will launch while the show is still airing. It will land in-between episodes seven and eight. This could be a promising launch considering it’s the first time non-PlayStation users can get their hands on the game. The hype surrounding the show is also sure to generate extra interest.

Win-win situation

We have seen similar scenarios such as this with the likes of Cyberpunk EdgeRunners. While Cyberpunk 2077 launched to a turbulent reception due to technical issues within the game. The show helped to breathe some life back into the title. What was better is that by this time, the game had seen various updates to eliminate previous issues. Cyberpunk sales surpassed 20 million following the debut of the Netflix series. Another CD Projekt RED title saw a similar outcome too. When The Witcher series aired on Netflix this triggered a massive boost of 554% in video game sales.

As we are seeing more video games being adapted to TV, game content will likely continue to be released to capitalise on sales. The Last of Us, show is looking to break the curse of bad video game adaptations.