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EA’s three-month stay at the top of the UK monthly charts is at an end as Ubisoft is declared the biggest publisher in April, according to GfK Chart-Track.
It was a tough month for the UK games industry. In terms of value the market is down 22.2 per cent compared to the same period the year before, and in terms of units the market is down 23.5 per cent year-on-year.
Ubisoft took an 18.6 per cent share of the UK software market last month, rising up to the top of the publisher rankings after sitting in fifth position in March. EA slipped to second with 18.1 per cent, but is still well ahead of Nintendo which sits in third place with a 14 per cent share.
The reason for Ubisoft’s triumph was down to the continued success of its MCV Award-winning Just Dance, which was April’s biggest seller. The game has sold over 1m copies in the UK since its release in November last year.
Ubisoft also secured second position in the April Top Ten with the arrival of its anticipated stealth sequel, Splinter Cell: Conviction, while EA grabbed third place with its FIFA World Cup game.
Ubisoft’s UK MD Rob Cooper told MCV: It is a great start to the new financial year – Splinter Cell: Conviction has performed well and Just Dance continues to be a huge seller.
With Prince of Persia released today (21st May) and the rest of the exciting line-up we have for this year, I am confident of maintaining a high level of success.”
In terms of the value of games sold, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 held a 30.9 per cent share of the software market, with PS3 in second place (23.6 per cent) and Wii following closely behind in third position (21.4 per cent).
Here’s ELSPA GfK Chart-Track’s Uk April Top Ten in full:
1. Just Dance (Ubisoft)
2. Splinter Cell: Conviction (Ubisoft)
3. FIFA World Cup 2010 (EA)
4. GTA: Episodes From Liberty City (Rockstar)
5. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA)
6. Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
7. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision)
9. Just Cause 2 (Square Enix)
10. Pokemon: Soul Silver (Nintendo)
