Final Fantasy XIII-2 on top in dreary February

The UK games retail market suffered yet another poor month in February, with unit sales down 29 per cent compared with the same period last year.

According to GfK Chart-Track, 2,314,424 games were sold last month, generating 55m for stores. In value, that’s almost 25 per cent down compared with February 2011.

The UK retail games market is suffering severe economic challenges, worsened by a lack of stock in key specialists GAME and Gamestation.

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII-2 was the biggest seller, beating Konami’s Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection. As a result, both firms entered the Top 10 publisher ranking.

However, EA?and Ubisoft were the top publishers once again. EA has three games in the Top 10, including FIFA 12, Battlefield 3 and new release Kingdoms of Amalur.

The data takes in game sales between January 29th and February 25th, so includes the first monthly Vita data. Vita games accounted for over four per cent of the market last month, with Uncharted the biggest seller, reaching No.14.