UK CHARTS: September 2010

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY COMPANY – Units
(last month in brackets)

1. (1) EA – 25.0%
2. (9) Microsoft – 13.7%
3. (2) Ubisoft – 8.3%
4. (3) Nintendo – 7.4%
5. (15) Codemasters – 6.9%
6. (4) Take-Two – 5.7%
7. (5) Activsion – 4.1%
8. (17) Capcom – 3.9%
9. (11) Sony – 3.1%
10. (8) Square Enix – 3.0%

It’s no surprise to see EA take 25 per cent of the software market in terms of units last month. FIFA 11 alone sold almost 740,000 copies, and that was just one of seven EA titles in the Top 50. Meanwhile, Activision takes a tumble out of the Top Five, despite releasing a new Guitar Hero and Spider-man game.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT – Units
(last month in brackets)

1. (1) Xbox 360 – 39.8%
2. (4) Playstation 3 – 24.9%
3. (2) Nintendo DS – 11.8%
4. (3) Nintendo Wii – 11.5%
5. (5) PC – 9.0%
6. (6) Sony PSP – 2.6%
7. (7) Playstation 2 – 0.4%

In a month of big core releases, it’s been a tough month for Nintendo’s platforms. There were very few new Wii and DS games on the market, which saw Wii’s software market share fall 7.1 per cent in terms of units, with DS’s share falling by 9.8 per cent. That should change next month, with the release of Wii Party, Just Dance 2 and Professor Layton and the Lost Future.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY COMPANY – Value
(last month in brackets)

1. (2) EA – 27.9%
2. (11) Microsoft – 19.6%
3. (15) Codemasters – 9.0%
4. (1) Nintendo – 6.9%
5. (3) Take-Two – 6.3%
6. (4) Ubisoft – 5.5%
7. (18) Capcom – 4.7%
8. (5) Activision – 4.1%
9. (12) Sony – 2.5%
10. (7) Square Enix – 2.5%

Microsoft has had a quiet year in terms of software – until Halo: Reach came along. In terms of the money made from software, the platform holder has shot up nine places in the publisher rankings. Codemasters has also had a quiet year, but F1 2010 has seen the firm rise 12 places in the rankings.

SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE BY FORMAT – Value
(last month in brackets)

1. (1) Xbox 360 – 48.7%
2. (2) Playstation 3 – 28.2%
3. (4) Nintendo Wii – 8.9%
4. (3) Nintendo DS – 7.8%
5. (5) PC – 4.5%
6. (6) Sony PSP – 1.6%
7. (7) Playstation 2 – 0.2%

The success of core games such as FIFA 11, Halo: Reach, Dead Rising 2, F1 2010 and Mafia II has seen Xbox 360 claim a huge chunk of the software market in terms of value. Microsoft’s machine accounted for almost half the money generated by video game sales last month. Although over 20 per cent behind Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3 still performed strongly with a 28.2 per cent share.

ALL FORMATS TOP 50: SEPTEMBER (August 29th to october 2nd)

1. FIFA 11 (EA)
2. Halo: Reach (Microsoft)
3. F1 2010 (Codemasters)
4. Dead Rising 2 (Capcom)
5. Mafia 2 (2K Games)
6. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (Square Enix)
7. Toy Story 3 (Disney)
8. Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (Ubisoft)
9. Sports Champions (Sony)
10. Just Dance (Ubisoft)
11. Red Dead Redemption (Take-Two)
12. Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2 (Ubisoft)
13. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
14. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 (EA)
15. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo)
16. Civilization V (2K Games)
17. LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 (Warner Bros)
18. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (Activision)
19. Sniper: Ghost Warrior (City Interactive)
20. Mass Effect 2 (EA)
21. New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo)
22. Tetris Party Deluxe (Nintendo)
23. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA)
24. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Blizzard)
25. Need For Speed: Shift (EA)
26. Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
27. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Nintendo)
28. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (Activision)
29. R.U.S.E (Ubisoft)
30. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Square Enix)
31. FIFA 10 (EA)
32. Dance on Broadway (Ubisoft)
33. UFC 2010: Undisputed (THQ)
34. Assassin’s Creed II: Complete Edition (Ubisoft)
35. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Square Enix)
36. Mario Kart WII (Nintendo)
37. Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (Sega)
38. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (Square Enix)
39. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition (Capcom)
40. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar)
41. Just Cause 2 (Square Enix)
42. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)
43. Grease: The Official Game (505 Games)
44. BioShock 2 (2K Games)
45. Grand Theft Auto Episodes From Liberty City (Rockstar)
46. Art Academy (Nintendo)
47. The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff (EA)
48. LEGO Batman: The Video Game (Warner Bros)
49. Metroid: Other M (Nintendo)
50. StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty (Blizzard)

The September chart includes games sold between Sunday, August 29th to Saturday, October 2nd – which means FIFA 11 had barely been on sale 48 hours yet still managed to be the biggest seller of the month.

738,839 copies of the football title were shifted over the two days, generating over 26 million, making it FIFA’s most successful opening weekend yet.

But it wasn’t all about FIFA last month. Microsoft’s Halo: Reach was snapping at EA’s heels, despite only being a single-format release.

The hit FPS sold 300,000 copies in its first weekend, and was comfortably the biggest selling Xbox 360 game of the month.

MCV reported during the summer that there has been a massive shift from the casual sector back towards the traditional games market, and the September chart backs that up.

In the Top 50 there are 35 games that can be described as ‘core’ and the Top Five games are all more traditional titles, including F1 2010 (No.3), Dead Rising 2 (No.4) and Mafia 2 (No.5)

In fact, the highest charting casual products are Sony’s Sports Champions in ninth position and Ubisoft’s evergreen Just Dance at No.10.

Data courtesy of UKIE GfK Chart-Track