The UK games market’s weekly value has dipped below £15 million for the first time since 2007, MCV can reveal.

According to MCV’s calculations, based on today’s Gfk-ChartTrack/ELSPA weekly report, the UK market has hit £13.7 million for the week ending May 17th, down from £16.6 million the week before. The weekly value hasn’t topped £20 million since the week ending April 18th.

A lack of major new releases is the reason behind the fall, while year-to-date the UK games market is down 14 per cent compared to 2008.

“In 2008 there was Grand Theft Auto IV, Wii Fit and Mario Kart,” commented ChartTrack research analyst Adam Davis.

“We’ve just not seen the same level of releases so far this year. Hopefully the likes of The Sims 3 can help rejuvenate the market.”

On average the UK games market has been on a slow decline since the turn of the year. However, this summer’s release schedule could reverse the trend, with a slew of big name titles set to hit shelves, beginning this Friday (22nd) with Punch-Out!!, Bionic Commando, EA Sports Active and Pokemon Platinum. Sony’s big PS3 hope Infamous is due the following week.

In fact, in contrast to 2008, the summer months features a wealth of triple-A releases, including The Sims 3, Ghostbusters, Wii Sports Resort, Virtua Tennis, EA Grand Slam Tennis, Harry Potter, Fuel, Guitar Hero, Prototype, Virtua Tennis, Indiana Jones Terminator, Transformers, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and much more.