6 MCV 16/07/10 NEWS UK games market suffers June blues
Sales for June down 23 per cent month-on-month Galaxy 2 and Red Dead Redemption perform strongly by Christopher Dring
THE VALUE of the UK games software market plummeted by 23 per cent last month when compared to May.
According to GfK Chart-
Track, the number of games sold also fell by 22 per cent. The disappointing results came despite the release of Nintendo’s critically acclaimed Super Mario Galaxy 2, which couldn’t quite unseat Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption – No.1 for the second month in a row. The release of Galaxy 2 however has helped Nintendo to improve its market share, with the platform holder reclaiming the No.1 position as the publisher that sold the largest number of games last month. However, the relatively lower price of Nintendo titles means that Take-Two retains its position as the publisher that generated the most revenue from games. Looking at formats, Xbox 360 came out on top as the platform most people bought
games on. However, the gap between 360 and PS3 is beginning to narrow month- on-month.
In terms of money
generated by games, the top seven was unchanged with Xbox 360 the leading format, followed by PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, PC, PSP and PS2. Microsoft’s console took almost one third of the market with 31.5 per cent of revenue generated from software sales. There has also been a slight increase for money made by PC and PSP games. The former benefited from EA’s expansion pack The Sims 3: Ambitions, while PSP was boosted by the highly anticipated release of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Other titles that performed well throughout June included 2010 FIFA World Cup, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Just Dance, Wii Fit Plus and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. For a full and detailed analysis of this week’s Top 50 and publisher rankings, head on over to page 16.
WWW.MCVUK.COM
Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Red Dead Redemption saw strong sales but couldn’t prevent the market dip
THE JUNE TOP TEN
It was a great month for Nintendo with four titles in the Top Ten, led by the critically adored Super Mario Galaxy 2 in second place. However, the plumber couldn’t beat Red Dead Redemption, which achieves the rare feat of being No.1 for two months on the trot. Warner Bros’ LEGO Harry Potteralso performed well, despite not arriving until the end of the month.
1. Red Dead Redemption..........................................................Take-Two 2. Super Mario Galaxy 2...........................................................Nintendo 3. 2010 FIFA World Cup ........................................................................EA 4. LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4.......................................Warner Bros. 5. Just Dance..................................................................................Ubisoft 6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2........................................Activision 7. Wii Fit Plus...............................................................................Nintendo 8. UFC 2010: Undisputed...................................................................THQ 9. Wii Sports Resort...................................................................Nintendo 10. Rooms: The Main Building ...................................................Nintendo
‘There will be a lot of failure in digital’
MANY OF the video games companies rushing towards the digital markets will fail. That’s the warning from Digital River’s global gaming VP Jeff Hemenway, who is
“
“And there will be a lot of failure. The whole free-to-play model is very easy for
companies to get into. The EAs and Ubisofts of the world are transitioning their business
There is a goldrush and there will be failure. The free-to- play model is very easy for companies to get into.
Jeff Hemenway, Digital River
concerned by the sheer number of start-ups and major publishers looking to capitalise on free-to-play games and digital downloads.
“There is a goldrush, there’s no question,” he told MCV.
Digital River is one of the
models into the free-to-play space. But the free-to-play space is made up of start-ups.” “In our business, we’ve got to make sure we partner with the right people who we feel have a good chance of success.”
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world’s biggest digital specialists, and provides downloads, subscriptions and micro-transaction systems for giants such as EA, Microsoft, Atari, Capcom and Ubisoft. Hemenway says the growth in digital has helped turn the tide for the struggling PC games market.
“A few years ago people kept saying ‘PC is dead, PC is dead,’ but the business model was just changing,” he added. “PC appeared to be dying because retail sales were. Last year digital distribution increased 200 per cent and micro- transactions grew 178 per cent.”
www.digitalriver.com
Digital River’s Jeff Hemenway is concerned about the number of free-to-play start-ups
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